University  of  California  •  Berkeley 


THE  EEUOTYFEPffiHTiNeCo.  220  DEYQHSKIRE  ST.  Bosron 


THE    MAYAS, 

THE  SOURCES  OF  THEIR  HISTOKY. 


DU.   LE   PLONGEON    IN   YUCATAN, 


HIS    ACCOUNT    OF    DISCOVERIES. 


BY    STEPHEN    SALISBURY,    JR. 

II 


FBOM  PROCEEDINGS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  ANTIQUARIAN  SOCIETY,  OF 
APRIL  26,  1876,  AND  APRIL  25, 1877. 


PRIVATELY       PRINTED. 


WORCESTER : 

PRESS     OP     CHARLES     HAMILTON, 
1877. 


WITH  THE  BESPECTS  OF  THE  WEITEE. 


CONTENTS. 


THE  MAYAS  AND  THE  SOURCES  OF  THEIR  HISTORY, Page    3 

DR.  LE  PLONGEON  IN  YUCATAN, "     53 

ILLUSTRATIONS. 

MAP  OP  YUCATAN, FRONTISPIECE. 

LOCALITY  OF  DISCOVERIES  AT  CHICHEN-ITZA, Page  58 

STATUE   EXHUMED  AT  CHICHEN-ITZA, "     62 

RELICS  FOUND  WITH  THE  STATUE, •«     74 


AHGRPP  I    I  (l;l;AI;Y 


Sit, 


THE   MAYAS 

AND    THE    SOUEOES    OP    THEIR    HISTORY. 


(.Proceedings  of  American  Antiquarian  Society,  April  26, 1876.] 

THE  most  comprehensive  and  accurate  map  of  Yucatan  is 
that  which  has  been  copied  for  this  pamphlet.  In  the  several 
volumes  of  travel,  descriptive  of  Maya  ruins,  are  to  be 
found  plans  more  or  less  complete,  intended  to  illustrate 
special  journeys,  but  they  are  only  partial  in  their  treatment 
of  this  interestkig  country.  The  Piano  de  Yucatan,  here- 
with presented — the  work  of  Sr.  Dn.  Santiago  Nigra  de 
San  Martin — was  published  in  1848,  and  has  now  become  ex- 
tremely rare.  It  is  valuable  to  the  student,  for  it  designates 
localities  abounding  in  ruins — those  not  yet  critically 
explored,  as  well  as  those  which  have  been  more  thoroughly 
investigated — by  a  peculiar  mark,  thus  d,  and  it  also  shows 
roads  and  paths  used  in  transportation  and  communication. 
Since  its  publication  political  changes  have  caused  the  divi- 
sion of  the  Peninsula  into  the  States  of  Yucatan  and  Cam- 
peachy,  which  change  of  boundaries  has  called  for  the 
preparation  of  a  new  and  improved  map.  Such  an  one 
is  now  being  engraved  at  Paris  and  will  soon  be  issued 
in  this  country.  It  is  the  joint  production  of  Sr.  Dn. 
Joaquin  Hubbe  and  Sr.  Dn.  Andres  Aznar  Perez,  revised 
by  Dr.  C.  Hermann  Berendt. 

The  early  history  of  the  central  portions  of  the  western 


hemispliere  has  particularly  attracted  the  attention  of 
European  archaeologists,  and  those  of  France  have  already 
formed  learned  societies  engaged  specifically  in  scientific 
and  antiquarian  investigations  in  Spanish  America.  It  is  to 
the  French  that  credit  for  the  initiative  in  this  most  interest- 
ing field  of  inquiry  is  especially  due,  presenting  an  example 
which  can  not  fail  to  be  productive  of  good  results  in  ani- 
mating the  enthusiasm  of  all  engaged  in  similar  studies. 

The  Societe  Ame'ricaine  de  France  (an  association,  like 
our  own,  having  the  study  of  American  Antiquities  as  a 
principal  object,  and  likely  to  become  prominent  in  this 
field  of  inquiry),  has  already  been  briefly  mentioned  by  our 
Librarian ;  but  the  reception  of  the  Annuaire  for  1873,  and 
a  statement  of  the  present  condition  of  the  Society  in  the 
Journal  des  Orientalistes  of  February  5,  1876,  gives  occa- 
sion for  a  more  extended  notice.  The  Society  was  founded 
in  1857 ;  and  among  those  most  active  in  its  creation  were  M. 
Brasseur  de  Bourbourg,  M-.  Leon  de  Rosny,  and  M.  Alfred 
Maury.  The  objects  of  the  association,  as  officially  set  forth, 
were,  first,  the  publication  of  the  works  and  collections  of  M. 
Aubin,  the  learned,  founder  of  a  theory  of  American  Archae- 
ology, which  it  was  hoped  would  throw  much  light  upon  the 
hieroglyphical  history  of  Mexico  before  the  conquest ;  * 
second,  the  publication  of  grammars  and  dictionaries  of 
the  native  languages  of  America ;  third,  the  foundation  of 


*  M.  L'Abbe  Brasseur  de  Bourbourg,  in  his  Histoire  des  nations  civilisees 
du  Mexique  (Paris,  1859,  vol.  I.  Preface),  speaks  of  M.  Aubin  as  the  translator 
of  the  manuscript  "  Historia  Tulteca,"  as  the  author  of  the  Memoire  sur 
recriture  figurative  et  la  peinture  didactique  des  anciens  Mexicains,  in 
which  he  reconstructed  the  system  of  Mexican  figurative  writing  almost 
entirely,  and  as  the  present  owner  of  what  remains  of  the  celebrated  Boturini 
collection,  and  of  many  other  historical  treasures,  gathered  in  his  various 
travels. 


professorships  of  History,  Archaeology,  and  American  Lan- 
guages ;  and  fourth,  the  creation,  outside  of  Paris,  of  four 
Museums  like  the  Museum  of  Saint  Germain,  under  the 
auspices  of  such  municipalities  as  encourage  their  founda- 
tion, as  follows  : 

A. — MusSe  mexicaine. 

B.— MusSe  pSruvienne  et  de  I'Ame'riqiie  du  Sud. 
C. — Mus6e  etlinographique  de  l'Am£rique  du  Nord. 
D. — MusSe  des  Antilles. 

The  list  of  members  contains  the  names  of  distinguished 
archaeologists  in  Europe,  and  a  foreign  membership  already 
numerous ;  and  it  is  contemplated  to  add  to  this  list  persons 
interested  in  kindred  studies  from  all  parts  of  the  civilized 
world.  The  publications  of  the  Society,  and  those  made 
under  its  auspices,  comprehend,  among  others,  .Essai  sur  le 
dechiffrement  de  V  Ecriture  hieratique  de  VAmerique  Cen- 
trale,  by  M.  L6on  de  Rosny,  President  of  the  Society,  1  vol. 
in  folio,  with  numerous  plates.*  This  work  treats  critically 
the  much  controverted  question  of  the  signification  of 
Maya  characters,  and  furnishes  a  key  for  their  interpre- 
tation.* Also,  Chronologie  hieroglyphico  phonetique  des 
Rois  Azteques  de  1352  d  1522,  retrouvee  dans  diverses 
mappes  amsricaines  antiques,  expliquee  et  precedee  d?une 
introduction  sur  VEcriture  mexicaine,  by  M.  Edouard 
Madier  de  Montjau.  The  archaeology  of  the  two  Americas, 

*"In  the  Congress  of  Americanists  held  last  July  at  Nancy,  France,  M.  Leon 
de  Rosny  delivered  a  masterly  address  on  the  Maya  hieroglyphics.  He  critically 
analyzed  the  attempts  at  decypherment  by  Brasseur  dt>.  Bourhourg  ami  II.de 
Charency.  The  Bishop  de  Landa  first  discovered  a  clue  to  their  meaning.  lie 
made  out  seventy-one  signs,  which  number  Rosny  has  increased  to  one  hund- 
red and  thirty-two.  Rosny  has  also  determined  the  order  in  which  they  should 
be  read,  as  a  rule  from  left  to  right,  but  in  exceptional  cases  from  right  to  left." 
•—[The  Popular  Science  Monthly,  New  York,  May,  1876,  pp.  118-119.] 
2 


and  the  ethnography  of  their  native  tribes,  their  lan- 
guages, manuscripts,  ruins,  tombs  and  monuments,  fall 
within  the  scope  of  the  Society,  which  it  is  their  aim  to 
make  the  school  and  common  centre  of  all  students  of 
American  pre-Columbian  history.  M.  Emile  Burnouf,  an 
eminent  archaeologist,  is  the  Secretary.  The  Archives 
for  1875  contain  an  article  on  the  philology  of  the 
Mexican  languages,  by  M.  Aubin;  an  account  of  a 
recent  voyage  to  the  regions  the  least  known  of  Mexico 
and  Arizona,  by  M.  Ch.  Schoebel;  the  last  written  com- 
munication of  M.  de  Waldeck,  the  senior  among  travel- 
lers; an  article  by  M.  Brasseur  de  Bourbourg,  upon  the 
language  of  the  Wabi  of  Tehuan tepee  ;  and  an  essay  by 
M.  de  Montjau,  entitled  Sur  quelques  manuscripts  figuratifs 
mexicainS)  in  which  the  translation  of  one  of  these  manu- 
scripts, by  M.  Ramirez  of  Mexico,  is  examined  critically,  and 
a  different  version  is  offered.  The  author  arrives  at  the 
startling  conclusion,  that  we  have  thus  far  taken  for  veritable 
Mexican  manuscripts,  many  which  were  written  by  the 
Spaniards,  or  by  their  order,  and  which  do  not  express  the 
sentiments  of  the  Indians.  Members  of  this  Society,  also,  took 
an  active  part  in  the  deliberations  of  the  Congres  interna- 
tional des  Americanistes,  which  was  held  at  Nancy  in  1875. 
It  was  a  maxim  of  the  late  Emperor  Napoleon  III.,  that 
France  could  go  to  war  for  an  idea.  The  Spanish  as  dis- 
coverers were  actuated  by  the  love  of  gold,  and  the  desire 
of  extending  the  knowledge  and  influence  of  Christianity, 
prominently  by  promoting  the  temporal  and  spiritual  power 
of  the  mother  church.  In  their  minds  the  cross  and  the  flag 
of  Spain  were  inseparably  connected.  The  French,  however, 
claim  to  be  ready  to  explore,  investigate  and  study,  for 


science  and  the  discovery  of  truth  alone.  In  addition  to 
the  Commission  Scientifique  du  Mexique  of  1862,  which 
was  undertaken  under  the  auspices  of  the  French  govern- 
ment, and  which  failed  to  accomplish  all  that  was  hoped, 
the  Emperor  Maximilian  i.  of  Mexico  projected  a  scientific 
exploration  of  the  ruins  of  Yucatan  during  his  brief  reign, 
while  he  was  sustained  by  the  assistance  of  the  French. 
The  tragic  death  of  this  monarch  prevented  the  execution  of 
his  plans ;  but  his  character,  and  his  efforts  for  the  improve- 
ment of  Mexico,  earned  for  this  accomplished  but  unfortunate 
prince  the  gratitude  and  respect  of  students  of  antiquity,  and 
even  of  Mexicans  who  were  politically  opposed  to  him.* 

The  attention  of  scholars  and  students  of  American  Anti- 
quities is  particularly  turned  to  Central  America,  because 
in  that  country  ruins  of  a  former  civilization,  and  pho- 
netic and  figurative  inscriptions,  still  exist  and  await  an 
interpretation.  In  Central  America  are  to  be  found  a 
great  variety  of  ruins  of  a  higher  order  of  architecture 
than  any  existing  in  America  north  of  the  Equator.  Hum- 
boldt  speaks  of  these  remains  in  the  following  language : 
"  The  architectural  remains  found  in  the  peninsula  of 
Yucatan  testify  more  than  those  of  Palenque  to  an  aston- 
ishing degree  of  civilization.  They  are  situated  between 
Yalladolid  Merida  and  Campeachy."  f  Frescott  says  of  this 
region.  "  If  the  remains  on  the  Mexican  soil  are  so  scanty, 
they  multiply  as  we  descend  the  southeastern  slope  of  the 
Cordilleras,  traverse  the  rich  valleys  of  Oaxaca,  and  pene- 

*  Geographies  de  las  lenguas  y  carta  ethnografica  de  Mexico.  By  M. 
Orosco  y  Berra,  Mexico,  1864.  Introduction  p.  X.  La  /Situation  actual  de 
la  Eaza  indigena  de  Mexico.  By  Don  Francisco  Pimentel,  Mexico,  1864, 
Dedication. 

t  Views  of  Nature,  page  131. 


8 

trate  the  forests  of  Chiapas  and  Yucatan.  In  the  midst  of 
these  lonely  regions,  we  meet  with  the  rnins  recently  dis- 
covered of  several  eastern  cities  —  Mitla,  Palenque,  and 
Itzalana  or  Uxmal,  —  which  argue  a  higher  civilization  than 
anything  yet  found  on  the  American  Continent."* 

The  earliest  account  in  detail  —  as  far  as  we  know  — 
of  Mayan  ruins,  situated  in  the  States  of  Chiapas  and 
Yucatan,  is  presented  in  the  narrative  of  Captain  Antonio 
del  Rio,  in  1787,  entitled  Description  of  an  ancient 
city  near  Palenque.  His  investigation  was  undertaken 
by  order  of  the  authorities  of  Guatemala,  and  the  publi- 
cation in  Europe  of  its  results  was  made  in  1822.  In  the 
course  of  his  account  he  says,  "a  Franciscan,  Thomas  de 
Soza,  of  Merida,  happening  to  be  at  Palenque,  June  21,  1787, 
states  that  twenty  leagues  from  the  city  of  Merida,  southward, 
between  Muna,  Ticul  and  Noxcacab,  are  the  remains  of  some 
stone  edifices.  One  of  them,  very  large,  has  withstood  the 
ravages  of  time,  and  still  exists  in  good  preservation.  The 
natives  give  it  the  name  of  Oxmutal.  It  stands  on  an 
eminence  twenty  yards  in  height,  and  measures  two  hundred 
yards  on  each  fa§ade.  The  apartments,  the  exterior  cor- 
ridor, the  pillars  with  figures  in  medio  relievo,  decorated 
with  serpents  and  lizards,  and  formed  with  stucco,  besides 
which  are  statues  of  men  with  palms  in  their  hands,  in  the 
act  of  beating  drums  and  dancing,  resemble  in  every  respect 
those  observable  at  Palenque." f  After  speaking  of  the  exist- 
ence of  many  other  ruins  in  Yucatan,  he  says  he  does  not 
consider  a  description  necessary,  because  the  identity  of  the 
ancient  inhabitants  of  Yucatan  and  Palenque  is  proved,  in  his 

*  Conquest  of  Mexico,  New  York,  1843,  vol.  III.,  page  404. 
t  Description  of  an  ancient  city  near  Palenque,  page  6. 


opinion,  by  the  strange  resemblance  of  their  customs,  build- 
ings, and  acquaintance  with  the  arts,  whereof  such  vestiges 
are  discernible  in  those  monuments  which  the  current  of 
time  has  not^yet  swept  away. 

The  ruins  of  Yucatan,  those  of  the  state  of  Chiapas  and  of 
the  Island  of  Cozumel,  are  very  splendid  remains,  and  they 
are  all  of  them  situated  in  a  region  where  the  Maya  lan- 
guage is  still  spoken,  substantially  as  at  the  time  of  the 
Spanish  discovery.* 

Don  Manuel  Orosco  y  Berra,  says  of  the  Indian  inhabi- 
tants, "  their  revengeful  and  tenacious  character  makes  of 
the  Mayas  an  exceptional  people.  In  the  other  parts  of 
Mexico  the  conquerors  have  imposed  their  language  upon 
the  conquered,  and  obliged  them  gradually  to  forget  their 
native  language.  In  Yucatan,  on  the  contrary,  they  have 
preserved  their  language  with  such  tenacity,  that  they  have 
succeeded  to  a  certain  point  in  making  their  conquerors 
accept  it.  Pretending  to  be  ignorant  of  the  Spanish, 
although  they  comprehend  it,  they  never  speak  but  in  the 
Maya  language,  obeying  only  orders  made  in  that  language, 
so  that  it  is  really  the  dominant  language  of  the  peninsula, 
with  the  only  exception  of  a  part  of  the  district  of  Cam- 
peachy.''! 

In  Cogolludo's  Historia  de  Yucatan,  the  similarity  of  ruins 
throughout  this  territory  is  thus  alluded  to:  "The  incontesta- 

*  Quadro  descriptivo  y  comparativo  de  las  lenguas  indigenas  de  Mexico, 
by  Francisco  Piraentel,  Mexico,  1865,  p.  3.  "The  Maya  is  also  still  the  spoken 
language  of  the  Island  of  Carmen,  the  town  of  Monie  Christo  in  Tobasco,  and 
Palenque  in  Chiapas.  With  so  much  tenacity  have  the  Indians  preserved  this 
language  that  to-day  they  speak  no  other,  so  that  the  whites  find  themselves 
obliged  to  learn  it  in  order  to  make  themselves  understood." 

t  Geographia  de  las  Lenguas,  y  Carta  ethnographica  de  Mexico,  by 
Manuel  Orosco  y  Berra,  Mexico,  1864,  p.  156. 


10 

ble  analogy  which  exists  between  the  edifices  of  Palenqne 
and  the  ruins  of  Yucatan  places  the  latter  under  the  same 
origin,  although  the  visible  progress  of  art  which  is  apparent 
assigns  different  epochs  for  their  construction."*  So  we 
have  numerous  authorities  for  the  opinion,  that  the  ruins  in 
Chiapas  and  Yucatan  were  built  by  the  same  or  by  a  kin- 
dred people,  though  at  different  periods  of  time,  and  that  the 
language  which  prevails  among  the  Indian  population  of 
that  region  at  the  present  day,  is  the  same  which  was  used 
by  their  ancestors  at  the  time  of  the  conquest. 

Captain  Dupaix,  who  visited  Yucatan  in  1805,  wrote  a 
description  of  the  ruins  existing  there,  which  was  published 
in  1834;  but  it  was  reserved  for  M.  Frederic  de  Waldeck  to 
call  the  attention  of  the  European  world  to  the  magnificent 
remains  of  the  Maya  country,  in  his  Voyage  pittoresque 
et  archaeologique  dans  la  province  de  Yucatan,  pendant 
des  annees  1834-1836,  Folio,  with  plates,  Paris,  1838. 
This  learned  centenarian  became  a  member  of  the  Antiqua- 
rian Society  in  1839,  and  his  death  was  noticed  at  the  last 
meeting.  Following  him  came  the  celebrated  Eastern  travel- 
ler, John  L.  Stephens,  whose  interesting  account  of  his  two 
visits  to  that  country  in  1840  and  1841,  entitled  Incidents 
of  travel  in  Central  America,  Chiapas  and  Yucatan,  in 
two  volumes,  and  Incidents  of  travel  in  Yucatan,  in  two 
volumes,  is  too  familiar  to  require  particular  notice  at  this 
point.  It  may  not  be  uninteresting  to  record  the  fact,  that 
Mr. -Stephens'  voyages  and  explorations  in  Yucatan  were 
made  after  the  suggestion  and  with  the  advice  of  Hon. 
John  R.  Bartlett,  of  Providence,  R.  L,  a  member  of  this 

*  Los  tre's  siglos  de  la  domination  Espanola  en  Yucatan.    By  Fr.  Diego 
Lopez  de  Cogolludo,— Madrid,  1688.— Merida,  1845,  Lib.  IV.,  Appendix  A. 


11 

Society,  who  obtained  for  this  traveller  the  copy  of  Wai- 
deck's  work  which  he  used  in  his  journeyings.  Desire" 
Charnay,  a  French  traveller,  published  in  1863  an  account 
entitled  Cites  et  Ruines  Americaines,  accompanied  by  a 
valuable  folio  Atlas  of  plates. 

The  writer  of  this  report  passed  the  winter  of  1861  at 
Me>ida,  the  capital  of  the  Province  of  Yucatan,  as  the  guest 
of  Don  David  Casares,  his  classmate,  and  was  received 
into  his  father's  family  with  a  kindness  and  an  attentive 
hospitality  which  only  those  who  know  the  warmth  and 
sincerity  of  tropical  courtesy  can  appreciate*  The  father, 
Don  Manuel  Casares,  was  a  native  of  Spain,  who  had  resided 
in  Cuba  and  in  the  United  States.  He  was  a  gentleman  of 
the  old  school,  who,  in  the  first  part  of  his  life  in  Yucatan, 
had  devoted  himself  to  teaching,  as  principal  of  a  high 
school  in  the  city  of  Merida,  but  was  then  occupied  in  the 
management  of  a  large  plantation,  upon  which  he  resided 
most  of  the  year,  though  his  family  lived  in  the  city.  He 

*The  family  of  Don  Manuel  Casares  consisted  of  his  wife — a  very  active  and 
estimable  lady, — three  sons  and  six  daughters.  Of  the  sons,  the  two  eldest, 
David  and  Primitivo,  were  educated  in  the  United  States.  David  Casares 
graduated  with,  honor  at  Harvard  College,  and  after  a  three  years  course  at 
the  Eoole  centrale  des  Arts  et  Manufactures,™  Paris,  he  passed  a  creditable 
examination  for  his  degree.  He  was  first  employed,  on  his  return  to  his  own 
country,  as  Professor  of  Mathematics  in  the  College  of  Minerva,  a  Jesuit  Col- 
lege of  Merida,  but  is  now  occupied  in  managing  the  plantation  of  his  father, 
who  died  in  1864.  Primitivo,  the  second  son,  studied  mechanics  and  engineer- 
ing at  the  scientific  school  in  Cambridge,  and  employed  himself  in  several 
machine  shops  and  foundries  in  Worcester  and  Lowell,  to  prepare  himself  to 
introduce  the  use  of  machinery  in  his  native  country.  He  returned  to  his 
home  in  company  with  the  writer,  but  died  a  year  after,  stricken  down  by  fever, 
brought  on  by  over-work  while  superintending  the  erection  of  machinery,  upon 
one  of  the  estates  in  the  neighborhood  of  Merida.  Both  these  men  were  great 
favorites  in  Cambridge  and  Jamaica  Plain,  where  they  resided,  and  are  well 
remembered  for  their  attractive  and  interesting  qualities.  The  writer  became 
acquainted  with  many  of  the  prominent  families  of  Merida  and  Campeachy, 
from  whom  he  received  hospitable  courtesies  and  attentions ;  but  it  would  here 
be  out  of  place  to  acknowledge  personal  obligations. 


12 

was  possessed  of  great  energy  and  much  general  information, 
and  could  speak  English  with  ease  and  correctness.  Being 
highly  respected  in  the  community,  he  was  a  man  of  weight 
and  influence,  the  more  in  that  he  kept  aloof  from  all 
political  cabals,  in  which  respect  his  conduct  was  quite 
exceptional.  The  Abbe  Brasseur  de  Bourbourg,  in  his 
llistoire  des  nations  civilizees  du  Mexique,  acknowledges 
the  valuable  assistance  furnished  him  by  Senor  Casares, 
whom  he  describes  as  a  learned  Yucateco  and  ancient 
deputy  to  Mexico.* 

Perhaps  some  of  the  impressions  received,  during  a  five 
months'  visit,  will  be  pardoned  if  introduced  in  this  report. 
Yucatan  is  a  province  of  Mexico,  very  isolated  and  but  little 
known.  It  is  isolated,  from  its  geographical  position,  sur- 
rounded as  it  is  on  three  sides  by  the  waters  of  the  Gulf  of 
Mexico  and  the  Atlantic  Ocean  ;  and  it  is  but  little  known, 
because  its  commerce  is  insignificant,  and  its  communication 
with  other  countries,  and  even  with  Mexico,  is  infrequent. 
It  has  few  ports.  Approach  to  the  coast  can  only  be  accom- 
plished in  lighters  or  small  boats ;  while  ships  are  obliged  to 
lie  off  at  anchor,  on  account  of  the  shallowness  of  the  water 
covering  the  banks  of  sand,  which  stretch  in  broad  belts 
around  the  peninsula.  The  country  is  of  a  limestone  forma- 
tion, and  is  only  slightly  elevated  above  the  sea.  Its  general 
character  is  level,  but  in  certain  districts  there  are  table 
lands ;  and  a  mountain  range  runs  north-easterly  to  the  town 
of  Maxcanu,  and  thence  extends  south-westerly  to  near  the 
centre  of  the  State.  The  soil  is  generally  of  but  little  depth, 
but  is  exceedingly  fertile. 

*  Histoire  des  nations  civilizees  du  Mexique,  by  M.  L'Abbe  Brasseur  de 
Bourbourg,  vol.  II.,  page  578. 


13 

There  are  no  rivers  in  the  northern  part  of  the  province, 
and  only  the  rivers  Charnpoton,  and  the  Uzurnacinta  with  its 
branches,  in  the  south-western  portion  ;  but  there  are  several 
small  lakes  in  the  centre  of  Yucatan,  and  a  large  number  ot 
artificial  ponds  in  the  central  and  southern  districts.  The 
scarcity  of  water  is  the  one  great  natural  difficulty  to  be 
surmounted  in  most  parts  of  the  country  ;  but  a  supply  can 
commonly  be  obtained  by  digging  wells,  though  often  at  so 
great  a  depth  that  the  cost  is  formidable.  The  result  is  that 
the  number  of  wells  is  small,  and  in  the  cities  of  Merida  and 
Campeachy  rain  water  is  frequently  stored  in  large  cisterns 
for  domestic  purposes.  From  the  existence  of  cenotes  or 
ponds  with  an  inexhaustible  supply  of  water  at  the  bottom 
of  caves,  and  because  water  can  be  reached  by  digging  and 
blasting,  though  with  great  effort  and  expense,  the  theory 
prevails  in  Yucatan  that  their  territory  lies  above  a  great 
underground  lake,  which  offers  a  source  of  supply  in  those 
sections  where  lakes,  rivers  and  springs,  are  entirely  unknown. 
A  very  healthful  tropical  climate  prevails,  and  the 
year  is  divided  into  the  wet  and  the  dry  season,  the  former 
beginning  in  Ju/ne,  and  lasting  until  October,  the  latter 
covering  the  remaining  portions  of  the  year.  During  the 
dry  season  of  1861-2,  the  thermometer  ranged  from  75° 
to  78°  in  December  and  January,  and  from  78°  to  82° 
in  February,  March  and  April.  Early  in  the  dry  season 
vegetation  is  luxuriant,  the  crops  are  ripening,  and  the 
country  is  covered  with  verdure ;  but  as  the  season  pro- 
gresses the  continued  drouth,  which  is  almost  uninterrupted, 
produces  the  same  effect  upon  the  external  aspect  of  the 
fields  and  woods  as  a  northern  winter.  Most  of  the  trees 

lose   their    leaves,  the   herbage   dries   up,   and    the   roads 
3 


14 

become  .covered  with  a  thick  dust  During  exceptionally 
dry  seasons  thousands  of  cattle  perish  from  the  entire  lack 
of  subsistence,  first  having  exhausted  the  herbage  and  then 
the  leaves  and  shrubbery. 

The  population  of  the  peninsula  is  now  about  502,- 
731,  four-fifths  of  which  are  Indians  and  Mestizos  or 
half-breeds.  The  general  business  of  the  country  is  agri- 
cultural, and  the  territory  is  divided  into  landed  estates  or 
farms,  called  haciendas,  which  are  devoted  to  the  breeding 
of  cattle,  and  to  raising  jenniken  or  Sisal  hemp,  and  corn. 
Cotton  and  sugar  are  also  products,  but  not  to  an  extent 
to  admit  of  exportation.  Some  of  the  plantations  are 
very  large,  covering  an  area  of  six  or  seven  miles 
square,  and  employing  hundreds  of  Indians  as  laborers. 

Farm  houses  upon  the  larger  estates  are  built  of  stone  and 
lime,  covered  with  cement,  and  generally  occupy  a  central 
position,  with  private  roads  diverging  from  them.  These 
houses,  which  are  often  very  imposing  and  palatial,  are  in- 
tended only  for  the  residence  of  the  owners  of  the  estate  and 
their  major-domos  or  superintendents.  The  huts  for  the 
Indian  laborers  are  in  close  proximity  to  the  residence  of  the 
proprietor,  upon  the  roads  which  lead  to  it,  and  are  gen- 
erally constructed  in  an  oval  form  with  upright  poles,  held 
together  by  withes  of  bark;  and  they  are  covered  inside 
and  out  with  a  coating  of  clay.  The  roofs  are  pointed,  and 
also  made  with  poles,  and  thatfched  with  straw.  They  have 
no  chimneys,  and  the  smoke  finds  its  way  out  from  various 
openings  purposely  left.  The  huts  have  no  flooring,  are 
larger  than  the  common  wigwams  of  the  northern  Indians, 
and  ordinarily  contain  but  a  single  room.  The  cattle 
yards  of  the  estate,  called  corrals,  immediately  join  the 


15 

residence  of  the  proprietor,  and  are  supplied  with  water  by 
artificial  pumping.  All  the  horses  and  cattle  are  branded, 
and  roam  at  will  over  the  estates,  (which  are  not  fenced, 
except  for  the  protection  of  special  crops),  and  resort  daily 
to  the  yards  to  obtain  water.  This  keeps  the  herds  to- 
gether. The  Indian  laborers  are  also  obliged  to  rely 
entirely  upon  the  common  well  of  the  estate  for  their 
supply  of  water. 

The  Indians  of  Yucatan  are  subject  to  a  system  of  peonage, 
differing  but  little  from  slavery.  The  proprietor  of  an  estate 
gives  each  family  a  hut,  and  a  small  portion  of  land  to 
cultivate  for  its  own  use,  and  the  right  to  draw  water  from 
the  common  well,  and  in  return  requires  the  labor  of  the 
male  Indians  one  day  in  each  week  under  superintendence. 
An  account  is  kept  with  each  Indian,  in  which  all  extra 
labor  is  credited,  and  he  is  charged  for  supplies  furnished. 
Thus  the  Indian  becomes  indebted  to  his  employer,  and 
is  held  upon  the  estate  by  that  bond.  While  perfectly 
free  to  leave  his  master  if  he  can  pay  this  debt,  he  rarely 
succeeds  in  obtaining  a  release,  j^o  right  of  corporal 
punishment  is  allowed  by  law,  but  whipping  is  practiced 
upon  most  of  the  estates. 

The  highways  throughout  the  country  are  numerous,  but 
generally  are  rough,  and  there  is  but  little  regular 
communication  between  the  various  towns.  From  the  cities 
of  Merida  and  Campeachy,  public  conveyances  leave  at 
stated  times  for  some  of  the  more  important  towns;  but 
travellers  to  other  points  are  obliged  to  depend  on  private 
transportation.  A  railroad  from  Me>ida  to  the  port  of 
Progreso  ,  a  distance  of  sixteen  miles,  was  in  process  of 
being  built,  but  the  writer  is  not  aware  of  its  completion. 


16 

The  peninsula  is  now  divided  into  the  States  of  Yucatan, 
with  a  population  of  282,634,  with  Merida  for  a  capital, 
and  Campeachy,  with  a  population  of  80,366,  which  has 
the  city  of  Campeachy  as  its  capital.  The  government 
is  similar  to  our  state  governments,  but  is  liable  to  be 
controlled  by  military  interference.  The  States  are 
dependent  upon  the  central  government  at  Mexico,  and 
send  deputies  to  represent  them  in  the  congress  of  the 
Republic.  In  the  south-western  part  of  the  country  there 
is  a  district  very  little  known,  which  is  inhabited  by  Indians 
who  have  escaped  from  the  control  of  the  whites  and  are 
called  Sublevados.  These  revolted  Indians,  whose  number 
is  estimated  at  139,731,  carry  on  a  barbarous  war,  and  make 
an  annual  invasion  into  the  frontier  towns,  killing  the  whites 
and  such  Indians  as  will  not  join  their  fortunes.  With  this 
exception,  the  safety  of  life  and  property  is  amply  protected, 
and  seems  to  be  secured,  not  so  much  by  the  severity  of  the 
laws,  as  by  the  peaceful  character  of  the  inhabitants  of  all 
races.  The  trade  of  the  country,  except  local  traffic,  is  car- 
ried on  by  water.  Regular  steam  communication  occurs 
monthly  between  New  York  andpr-ogv<tfothe  port  of  Merida, 
via  Havana,  and  occasionally  barques  freighted  with  corn, 
hides,  hemp  and  other  products  of  the  country,  and  also 
carrying  a  small  number  of  passengers,  leave  its  ports  for 
Havana,  Vera  Cruz  arid  the  United  States.  Freight  and 
passengers  along  the  coast  are  transported  in  flat  bottomed 
canoes.  Occasional  consignments  of  freight  and  merchan- 
dise arrive  by  ship  from  France,  Spain  and  other  distant 
ports. 

The  cities  of  Merida  and  Campeachy  are  much  like 
Havana  in  general  appearance.  The  former  has  a  popula- 


17 

tion  of  23,500,  is  the  residence  of  the  Governor,  and  contains 
the  public  buildings  of  the  State,  the  cathedral — an  imposing 
edifice, — the  Bishop's  palace,  an  ecclesiastical  college,  fifteen 
churches,  a  hospital,  jail  and  theatre.  The  streets  are  wide 
and  are  laid  out  at  right  angles.  The  houses,  which  are 
generally  of  one  story,  are  large,  and  built  of  stone  laid 
in  mortar  or  cement;  and  they  are  constructed  in  the 
Moorish  style,  with  interior  court  yards  surrounded  witli 
corridors,  upon  which  the  various  apartments  open. 
Hie  windows  are  destitute  of  glass,  but  have  strong  wooden 
shutters ;  and  those  upon  the  public  streets  often  project  like 
bow  windows,  and  are  protected  by  heavy  iron  gratings. 
The  inhabitants  are  exceedingly  hospitable,  and  there  is 
much  cultivated  society  in  both  Merida  and  Campeachy. 
As  the  business  of  the  country  is  chiefly  agricultural,  many 
of  the  residents  in  the  cities  own  haciendas  in  the  country, 
where  they  entertain  large  parties  of  friends  at  the  celebra- 
tion of  a  religious  festival  on  their  plantations,  or  in  the 
immediate  neighborhood.  The  people  are  much  given  to 
amusements,  and  the  serious  duties  of  life  are  often  obliged 
to  yield  to  the  enjoyments  of  the  hour.  The  Catholic  relig- 
ion prevails  exclusively,  and  has  a  ^ery  strong  hold  upon  the 
population,  both  white  and  Indian,  and  the  religious  services 
of  the  church  are  performed  with  great  ceremony,  business 
of  all  kinds  being  suspended  during  their  observance. 

The  aboriginal  ruins,  to  which  so  much  attention  has 
been  directed,  are  scattered  in  groups  through  the  whole 
peninsula.  Me"rida  is  built  upon  the  location  of  the  ancient 
town  Tihoo,  and  the  materials  of  the  Indian  town  were  used 
in  its  construction.  Sculptured  stones,  which  formed  the 
ornamental  finish  of  Indian  buildings,  are  to  be  seen  in  the 


18 

walls  of  the  modern  houses.*  An  artificial  hill,  called  u  El 
Castillo,"  was  formerly  the  site  of  an  Indian  temple,  and  is 
curious  as  the  only  mound  remaining  of  all  those  existing  at 
the  time  of  the  foundation  of  the  Spanish  city.  This  mound 
is  almost  the  only  trace  of  Indian  workmanship,  in  that  imme- 
diate locality,  which  has  not  been  removed  or  utilized  in 
later  constructions.!  It  appears  that  a  large  part  of  the 
building  material  throughout  the  province  was  taken  from 
aboriginal  edifices,  and  the  great  number  of  stone  churches 
of  considerable  size,  which  have  been  built  in  all  the  small 
towns  in  that  country,  is  proof  of  the  abundance  of  this 
material. 

The  ruins  of  Uxmal,  said  to  be  the  most  numerous  and 
imposing  of  any  in  the  province,  were  visited  by  the  writer 
in  company  with  a  party  of  sixteen  gentlemen  from  Merida, 
of  whom  two  only  had  seen  them  before.  The  expedition 
was  arranged  out  of  courtesy  to  the  visitor,  and  was  per- 
formed on  horseback.  The  direct  distance  was  riot  more 
than  sixty  miles  in  a  southerly  direction,  but  the  excursion 
was  so  managed  as  to  occupy  more  than  a  week,  during 
which  time  the  hospitality  of  the  haciendas  along  the 
route  was  depended  upon  for  shelter  and  entertainment. 
Some  of  the  plantations  visited  were  of  great  extent, 
and  among  others,  that  called  Guayalke  was  especially 
noticeable  for  its  size,  and  also  for  the  beauty  and  ele- 
gance of  the  farm  house  of  the  estate,  which  was  con- 
structed entirely  of  stone,  and  was  truly  palatial  in  its 
proportions.  This  building  is  fully  described  by  Mr. 

*  Historia  de  Yucatan.    By  Cogolludo.    Merida,  1845.    Lib.  III.,  cap.  VII. 
t  Ibid.    Lib.  IV.,  cap.  XII. 


19 

Stephens.*  The  works  of  this  writer  form  an  excellent 
hand-book  for  the  traveller.  His  descriptions  are  truthful, 
and  the  drawings  by  Mr.  Catherwood  are  accurate,  and 
convey  a  correct  idea  of  the  general  appearance  of  ruins, 
and  of  points  of  interest  which  were  visited ;  and  the  per- 
sonal narrative  offers  a  great  variety  of  information,  which 
could  only  be  gathered  by  a  traveller  of  much  experience  in 
the  study  of  antiquities.  Such  at  least  is  the  opinion  of  the 
people  of  that  country.  His  works  are  there  quoted  as 
high  authority  respecting  localities  which  he  visited  and 
described;  and  modern  Mexican  philologists  and  antiquaries 
refer  to  Stephens'  works  and  illustrations  with  confidence 
in  his  representations,  and  with  respect  and  deference  for 
his  opinions  and  inferences.! 

At  various  points  along  the  route,  portions  of  ruined 
edifices  were  seen  but  not  explored.  The  ruins  of  Uxmal 
are  distant  about  a  mile  from  the  hacienda  buildings,  and 
extend  as  far  as  the  eye  can  reach.  They  belong  to  Don 
Simon  Peon,  a  gentleman  who,  though  he  does  not  reside 
there,  has  so  much  regard  for  their  preservation  that  he 
will  not  allow  the  ruins  to  be  removed  or  interfered  with 
for  the  improvement  of  the  estate,  in  which  respect  he  is 
an  exception  to  many  of  the  planters.  Here  it  may  be 
remarked,  that  the  inhabitants  generally  show  little  interest 
in  the  antiquities  of  their  country,  and  no  public  effort  is 
made  to  preserve  them.  The  ruins  which  yet  remain  undis- 
turbed have  escaped  destruction,  in  most  instances,  only 

*  Travels  in  Cent.  Am.,  Chiapas  and  Yucatan.  By  J.  L.  Stephens.  New 
York,  1858.  vol.  II.,  page  403. 

t  Geographic,  de  las  Lenguas  y  Carta  Ethnographica  de  Mexico.  By 
Manuel  Orozco  y  Berra,  Mexico,  1864,  p.  100.  Ibid.  p.  115.  Quadro  descrip- 
tivo  y  comparative  de  las  Lenguas  indigenas  de  Mexico.  By  D.  Francisco 
Pimentel.  Mexico,  1865.  Tom.  11,  p.  36. 


20 

because  their  materials  have  not  been  required  in  con- 
structing modern  buildings.  Much  of  the  country  is  thinly 
inhabited,  and  parts  of  it  are  heavily  wooded.  It  is  there 
that  the  remains  of  a  prior  civilization  have  best  escaped  the 
hand  of  man,  more  to  be  dreaded  than  the  ravages  of  time. 

The  stone  edifices  of  Uxmal  are  numerous,  and  are  gen- 
erally placed  upon  artificial  elevations;  they  are  not  crowded 
together,  but  are  scattered  about  singly  and  in  groups  over 
a  large  extent  of  territory.  The  most  conspicuous  is  an 
artificial  pyramidal  mound,  upon  the  top  of  which  is  a  stone 
building  two  stories  in  height,  supposed  to  have  been  used 
as  a  sacrificial  temple.  One  side  of  this  mound  is  per- 
pendicular ;  the  opposite  side  is  approached  by  a  flight 
of  stone  steps.  ,  The  building  on  the  top,  and  the  steps 
by  which  the  ascent  is  made  are  in  good  preservation. 
Some  of  the  large  buildings  are  of  magnificent  proportions, 
and  are  much  decorated  with  has  reliefs  of  human  figures 
and  faces  in  stone,  and  with  other  stone  ornaments.  The 
writer  does  not  recollect  seeing  any  stucco  ornamentation 
at  this  place,  though  such  material  is  used  elsewhere.  What 
are  popularly  called  "House  of  the  Governor"  and  "House 
of  the  Nuns,"  are  especially  remarkable  for  their  wonderful 
preservation ;  so  that  from  a  little  distance  they  appear  per- 
fect and  entire,  except  at  one  or  two  points  which  look  as  if 
struck  by  artillery.  The  rooms  in  the  ruins  are  of  various 
sizes,  and  many  of  them  could  be  made  habitable  with 
little  labor,  on  removing  the  rubbish  which  has  found  its 
way  into  them. 

The  impression  received  from  an  inspection  of  the  ruins  of 
Uxmal  was,  that  they  had  been  used  as  public  buildings,  arid 
residences  of  officers,  priests  and  high  dignitaries.  Both 


21 

Stephens  and  Prescott  are  of  the  opinion  that  some  of  the 
ruins  in  this  territory  were  built  and  occupied  by  the  direct 
ancestors  of  the  Indians,  who  now  remain  as  slaves  upon 
the  soil  where  once  they  ruled  as  lords.*  The  antiquity 
of  other  remains  evidently  goes  back  to  an  earlier  epoch, 
and  antedates  the  arrival  of  the  Spaniards.  If  the  Indians 
of  the  time  of  the  conquest  occupied  huts  like  those  of  the 
Indians  of  to-day,  it  is  not  strange  that  all  vestiges  of  their 
dwellings  should  have  disappeared.  Mr.  Stephens  gives  an 
interesting  notice  of  the  first  formal  conveyance  of  the 
property  of  Uxmal,  made  by  the  Spanish  government  in 
1673,  which  was  shown  him  by  the  present  owner,  in 
which  the  fact  that  the  Indians,  then,  worshipped  idols 
in  some  of  the  existing  edifices  on  that  estate,  is  mentioned. 
Another  legal  instrument,  in  1688,  describes  the  livery  of 
seizin  in  the  following  words,  "  In  virtue  of  the  power  and 
authority  by  which  the  same  title  is  given  to  me  by  the 
said  governor,  arid  complying  with  its  terms,  I  took  by  the 
hands  the  said  Lorenzo  de  Evia,  and  he  walked  with  me 
all  over  Uxmal  and  its  buildings,  opened  and  shut  some 
doors  that  had  several  rooms  (connected),  cut  within  the 
space  several  trees,  picked  up  fallen  stones  and  threw  them 
down,  drew  water  from  one  of  the  a^guadas  (artificial  ponds) 
of  the  said  place  of  Uxmal,  and  performed  other  acts  of 
possession."!  These  facts  are  interesting  as  indicating  actual 
or  recent  occupation ;  and  a  careful  investigation  of  docu- 
ments relating  to  the  various  estates,  of  which  the  greater 
part  are  said  to  be  written  in  the  Maya  language,  might 
throw  light  upon  the  history  of  particular  localities. 

*  Incidents  of  Travel  in  Yucatan,  Stephens,  vol.  II.,  page  445.    History  of 
the  Conquest  of  Mexico,  Prescott,  vol.  III.,  page  370. 
t  Incidents  of  Travel  in  Yucatan,  vol.  I.,  page  323. 
4 


22 

The  Maya  Indians  are  shorter  and  stouter,  and  have  a 
more  delicate  exterior  than  the  North  American  Savages. 
Their  hands  and  feet  are  small,  and  the  outlines  of  their 
figures  are  graceful.  They  are  capable  of  enduring  great 
fatigue,  and  the  privation  of  food  and  drink,  and  bear 
exposure  to  the  tropical  sun  for  hours  with  no  covering 
for  the  head,  without  being  in  the  least  affected.  Their 
bearing  evinces  entire  subjection  and  abasement,  and  they 
shun  and  distrust  the  whites.  They  do  not  manifest  the 
cheerfulness  of  the  negro  slave,  but  maintain  an  expression 
of  indifference,  and  are  destitute  of  all  curiosity  or  ambi- 
tion. These  peculiarities  are  doubtless  the  results*  of  the 
treatment  they  have  received  for  generations.  The  half- 
breeds,  or  Mestizos,  prefer  to  associate  with  the  whites 
rather  than  with  the  Indians ;  and  as  a  rule  all  the  domestic 
service  throughout  the  country  is  performed  by  that  class. 
Mestizos  often  hold  the  position  of  major-domos,  or  super- 
intendents of  estates,  but  Indians  of  pure  blood  are 
seldom  employed  in  any  position  of  trust  or  confidence. 
They  are  punctilious  in  their  observance  of  the  forms 
and  ceremonies  of  the  Catholic  religion,  and  a  numerous 
priesthood  is  maintained  largely  by  the  contributions  of  this 
race.  The  control  exercised  by  the  clergy  is  very  powerful, 
and  their  assistance  is  always  sought  by  the  whites  in  cases 
of  controversy.  The  Indians  are  indolent  and  fond  of 
spectacles,  and  the  church  offers  them  an  opportunity  of 
celebrating  many  feast  days,  of  which  they  do  not  fail  to 
avail  themselves. 

When  visiting  the  large  estate  of  Chactun,  belonging  to 
Don  VQSQ  Domingues,  thirty  miles  south-west  of  Merida,  at 
a  sugar  rancho  called  Orkintok,  the  writer  saw  a  large 


23 

ruin  similar  to  that  called  the  "  House  of  the  Nuns "  at 
Uxmal.  It  was  a  building  of  a  quadrangular  shape,  with 
apartments  opening  on  an  interior  court  in  the  centre  of 
the  quadrangle.  The  building  was  in  good  preservation, 
and  some  of  the  rooms  were  used  as  depositories  for  corn. 
The  visiting  party  breakfasted  in  one  of  the  larger 
apartments.  From  this  hacienda  an  excursion  was  made 
to  Maxcanu,  to  visit  an  artificial  mound,  which  had  a  pas- 
sage into  the  interior,  with  an  arched  stone  ceiling  and 
retaining  walls.*  This  passage  was  upon  a  level  with  the 
base  of  the  mound,  and  branched  at  right  angles  into  other 
passages  for  hundreds  of  feet.  Nothing  appeared  in  these 
passages  to  indicate  their  purpose.  The  labyrinth  was 
visited  by  the  light  of  candles  and  torches,  and  the  pre- 
caution of  using  a  line  of  cords  was  taken  to  secure  a 
certainty  of  egress.  A  thorough  exploration  was  prevented 
by  the  obstructions  of  the  debris  of  the  fallen  roof.  Other 
artificial  mounds  .encountered  elsewhere  had  depressions 
upon  the  top,  doubtless  caused  by  the  falling  in  of  interior 
passages  or  apartments.  There  is  no  account  of  the 
excavation  of  Yucatan  mounds  for  historical  purposes, 
though  Cogolludo  says  there  were  other  mounds  existing 
at  Me"rida  in  1542,  besides  "El  grande  de  los  Kues," 
which,  certainly,  have  now  disappeared ;  but  no  account 
of  their  construction  has  come  down  to  us.f  The  same 
author  also  says,  that,  with  the  stone  constructions  of  the 
Indian  city  churches  and  houses  were  built,  besides  the 
convent  and  church  of  the  Mejorada,  and  also  the  church 
of  the  Franciscans,  and  that  there  was  still  more  material 

*  Incidents  of  Travel  in  Yucatan,  Stephens,  vol.  I.,  page  212. 
t  Historia  de  Yucatan.    Cogolludo.    Lib.  III.,  Cap.  XI. 


24 

left  for  others  which  they  desired  to  build.*  It  is  then,  cer- 
tainly, a  plausible  supposition  that  the  great  mounds  were 
many  of  them  constructed  with  passages  like  that  at  Orkin- 
tok,  and  that  they  have  furnished  from  their  interiors 
worked  and  squared  stones,  which  were  used  in  the  con- 
struction of  the  modern  city  of  Me'rida  by  the  Spanish 
conquerors. 

When  the  Spanish  first  invaded  Mexico  and  Yucatan  they 
brought  with  them  a  small  number  of  horses,  which  animals 
were  entirely  unknown  to  the  natives,  and  were  made  use- 
ful not  only  as  cavalry  but  also  in  creating  a  superstitions 
reverence  for  the  conquerors,  since  the  Indians  at  first 
regarded  the  horse  as  endowed  with  divine  attributes. 
Cortez  in  his  expedition  from  the  city  of  Mexico  to  Hon- 
duras in  1524,  passed  through  the  State  of  Chiapas  near 
the  ruins  called  Palenque, — of  which  ancient  city,  however, 
no  mention  is  made  in  the  accounts  of  that  expedition, — and 
rested  at  an  Indian  town  situated  upon  an  island  in  Lake 
Peten  in  Guatemala.  This  island  was  then  the  property 
of  an  emigrant  tribe  of  Maya  Indians;  and  Bernal  Diaz, 
the  historian  of  the  expedition,  says,  that  "its  houses 
and  lofty  teocallis  glistened  in  the  sun,  so  that  it  might 
be  seen  for  a  distance  of  two  leagues."  According  to 
Prescott,  "  Cortez  on  his  departure  left  among  this 
friendly  people  one  of  his  horses,  which  had  been  disabled 
by  an  injury  in  the  foot.  The  Indians  felt  a  reverence 
for  the  animal,  as  in  some  way  connected  with  the  mys- 
terious power  of  the  white  men.  When  their  visitors 
had  gone  they  offered  flowers  to  the  horse,  and  as  it 
is  said,  prepared  for  him  many  savory  messes  of  poultry, 

*  Historia  de  Yucatan.    Cogolludo.    Lib.  III.,  Cap.  VII. 


25 

snch  as  they  would  have  administered  to  their  own  sick. 
Under  this  extraordinary  diet  the  poor  animal  pined  away 
and  died.  The  affrighted  Indians  raised  his  effigy  in  stone, 
and  placing  it  upon  one  of  their  teocallis,  did  homage  to  it 
as  to  a  deity."  *  At  the  hacienda  of  Don  Manuel  Casares 
called  Xuyum,  fifteen  miles  north-east  from  Merida,  a  num- 
ber of  cerros,  or  mounds,  and  the  ruins  of  several  small 
stone  structures  built  on  artificial  elevations,  were  pointed 
out  to  the  writer ;  and  his  attention  was  called  to  two 
sculptured  heads  of  horses  which  lay  upon  the  ground 
in  the  neighborhood  of  some  ruined  buildings.  They  were  of 
the  size  of  life,  and  represented,  cut  from  solid  limestone, 
the  heads  and  necks  of  horses  with  the  mane  clipped,  so  that 
it  stood  up  from  the  ridge  of  their  necks  like  the  inane  of 
the  zebra.  The  workmanship  of  the  figures  was  artistic, 
and  the  inference  made  at  the  time  was,  that  these  figures 
had  served  as  bas  reliefs  on  ruins  in  that  vicinity.  On 
mentioning  the  fact  of  the  existence  of  these  figures  to  Dr. 
Carl  Hermann  Berendt,  who  was  about  to  revisit  Yucatan, 
in  1869,  he  manifested  much  interest  in  regard  to  them,  and 
expressed  his  intention  to  visit  this  plantation  when  he  should 
be  in  Merida.  But  later  inquiries  have  failed  to  discover  any 
further  trace  of  these  figures.  Dr.  Berendt  had  never  seen 
any  representation  of  horses  upon  ruins  in  Central  America, 
and  considered  the  existence  of  the  sculptures  the  more 
noteworthy,  from  the  fact  that  horses  were  unknown  to  the 
natives  till  the  time  of  the  Spanish  discovery.  The  writer 
supposes  that  these  figures  were  sculptured  by  Indians  after 
the  conquest,  and  that  they  were  used  as  decorations  upon 
buildings  erected  at  the  same  time  and  by  the  same  hands. 
*  History  of  the  Conquest  of  Mexico.  Preseott,  Vol.  III.,  page  29*. 


26 

At  the  town  of  Izamal,  and  also  at  Zilam,  the  writer  saw 
gigantic  artificial  mounds,  with  stone  steps  leading  up  to 
a  broad  level  space  on  the  top.  There  are  no  remains  of 
structures  on  these  elevations,  but  it  seems  probable  that 
the  space  was  once  occupied  by  buildings.  At  Izamal, 
which  was  traditionally  the  sacred  city  of  the  Mayas,  a 
human  face  in  stucco  is  still  attached  to  the  perpendicular 
side  of  one  of  the  smaller  cerros  or  mounds.  The  face  is 
of  gigantic  size,  and  can  be*  seen  from  a  long  distance.  It 
may  have  been  a  representation  of  Zamna,  the  founder 
of  Mayan  civilization  in  Yucatan,  to  whose  worship  that 
city  was  especially  dedicated. 

From  this  slight  glance  at  the  remains  in  the  Mayan  terri- 
tory we  are  led  to  say  a  few  words  about  their  history.  In 
the  absence  of  all  authentic  accounts,  the  traditions  of  the 
Mayas,  and  the  writings  of  Spanish  chroniclers  and  eccle- 
siastics, offer  the  only  material  for  our  object.  M.  L'Abbe 
Brasseur  de  Bourbourg,  the  learned  French  traveller  and 
Archaeologist,  in  his  Histoire  des  Nations  Civilisees  du 
Mexique  et  de  V  Amerique  Centrale  durant  les  siecles 
anterieurs  a  Christophe  Columb,  has  given  a  very  volumin- 
ous and  interesting  account  of  Mayan  history  prior  to  the 
arrival  of  Europeans.  It  was  collected  by  a  careful  study 
of  Spanish  and  Mayan  manuscripts,  and  will  serve  at  least 
to  open  the  way  for  further  investigation  to  those  who  do 
not  agree  with  its  inferences  and  conclusions.  The  well 
known  industry  and  enthusiasm  of  this  scholar  have  contri- 
buted very  largely  to  encourage  the  study  of  American 
Archaeology  in  Europe,  and  his  name  has  been  most 
prominently  associated  with  the  later  efforts  of  the  French 
in  the  scientific  study  of  Mexican  antiquities.  A  brief 


27    • 

notice  of  some  of  the  marked  epochs  of  Mayan  history,  as 
he  presents  them,  will  not  perhaps  be  out  of  place  in  this 
connection. 

Modern  investigations,  in  accord  with  the  most  ancient 
traditions,  make  Tobasco  and  the  mouths  of  the  Tobasco 
river,  and  the  Uzumacinta,  the  first  cradle  of  civilization  in 
Central  America.  At  the  epoch  of  the  Spanish  invasion, 
these  regions,  and  the  interior  provinces  which  bordered  on 
them,  were  inhabited  by  a  great  number  of  Indian  tribes. 
There  was  a  time  when  the  major  part  of  the  population  of 
that  region  spoke  a  common  language,  and  this  language, 
was  either  the  Tzendale,  spoken  to-day  by  a  great  number  of 
the  Indians  in  the  State  of  Chiapas,  or  more  likely  the  Maya, 
the  only  language  of  the  peninsula  of  Yucatan.  When  the 
Spaniards  first  appeared,  the  native  population  already  occu- 
pied the  peninsula,  and  a  great  part  of  the  interior  region  of 
that  portion  of  the  continent.  Learned  Indians  have  stated, 
that  they  heard  traditionally  from  their  ancestors,  that  at 
first  the  country  was  peopled*  by  a  race  which  came  from 
the  east,  and  that  their  God  had  delivered  them  from  the 
pursuit  of  certain  others,  in  opening  to  them  a  way  of 
escape  by  means  of  the  sea.  According  to  tradition,  Yotan, 
a  priestly  ruler,  came  to  Yucatan  many  centuries  before  the 
Christian  era,  and  established  his  first  residence  at  Nachan, 
now  popularly  called  Palenque.  The  astonishment  of  the 
natives  at  the  coming  of  Yotan  .was  as  great  as  the  sensation 
produced  later  at  the  appearance  of  the  Spaniards.  Among 
the  cities  which  recognized  Yotan  as  founder,  Mayapan  occu- 
pied a  foremost  rank  and  became  the  capital  of  the  Yucatan 
peninsula;  a  title  which  it  lost  and  recovered  at  various 
times,  and  kept  until  very  near  to  the  date  of  the  arrival 


.     28 

of  the  Spaniards.  The  ruins  of  Majapan  are  situated  in 
the  centre  of  the  province,  about  twenty-four  miles  from 
those  of  Uxmal.  Mayapan,  Tulha — situated  upon  a  branch 
of  the  Tobasco  river, — and  Palenque,  are  considered  the  most 
ancient  cities  of  Central  America. 

Zamna  however  was  revered  by  the  Mayas  as  their 
greatest  lawgiver,  and  as  the  most  active  organizer  of  their 
powerful  kingdom.  He  was  a  ruler  of  the  same  race  as 
Yotan,  and  his  arrival  took  place  a  few  years  after  the 
building  of  Palenque.  The  first  enclosure  of  Mayapan 
surrounded  only  the  official  and  sacred  buildings,  but  later 
this  city  was  much  extended,  so  that  it-  became  one  of  the 
largest  of  ancient  America.  Zamna  is  said  to  have  reigned 
many  years,  and  to  have  introduced  arts  and  sciences  which 
enriched  his  kingdom.  He  was  buried  at  Izamal,  which 
became  a  shrine  where  multitudes  of  pilgrims  rendered 
homage  to  this  benefactor  of  their  country.  Here  was 
established  an  oracle,  famous  throughout  that  whole  region, 
which  was  also  resorted  to  for,the  cure  of  diseases. 

Mayan  chronology  fixes  the  year  258  of  the  Christian  era 
as  the  date  when  the  Tutul-Xius,  a  princely  family  from 
Tulha,  left  Guatemala  and  appeared  in  Yucatan.  They  con- 
ciliated the  good  will  of  the  king  of  Mayapan  and  rendered 
themselves  vassals  of  the  crown  of  Maya.  The  Tutul-Xius 
founded  Mani  and  also  Tihoo,  afterwards  the  modern  city  of 
Me'rida.  The  divinity  most  worshipped  at  Tihoo  was  Bak- 
lum-Chaam,  the  Priapus  of  the  Mayas,  and  the  great  temple 
erected  as  a  sanctuary  to  this  god  was  but  little  inferior  to 
the  temple  of  Izamal.  It  bore  the  title  <£  Yahan-Kuna"  most 
beautiful  temple.  A  letter  from  Father  Bienveiiida  to 
Philip  II.,  speaks  of  this  city  in  these  terms,  "  The  city  is 


29 

30  leagues  in  the  interior,  and  is  called  Me'rida,  which  name 
it  takes  on  account  of  the  beautiful  buildings  which  it  con- 
tains, because  in  the  whole  extent  of  country  which  has 
been  discovered,  not  one  so  beautiful  has  been  met  with. 
The  buildings  are  finely  constructed  of  hammered  stone, 
laid  without  cement,  and  are  30  feet  in  height.  On  the 
summit  of  these  edifices  are  four  apartments,  divided  into 
cells  like  those  of  the  monks,  which  are  twenty  feet  long 
and  ten  feet  wide.  The  posts  of  the  doors  are  of  a  single 
stone,  and  the  roof  is  vaulted.  The  priests  have  established 
a  convent  of  St.  Francis  in  the  part  which  has  been  dis- 
covered. It  is  proper  that  what  has  served  for  the  worship 
of  the  demon  should  be  transformed  into  a  temple  for  the 
service  of  God."  * 

Later  in  history  a  prince  named  Cukulcan  arrived  from 
the  west  and  established  himself  at  Chichen-Itza.  Owing 
to  quarrels  in  the  Mayan  territory,  he  was  asked  to  take 
the  supreme  government  of  the  empire,  with  Mayapan  as 
the  capital  city.  By  his  management  the  government  was 
divided  into  three  absolute  sovereignties,  which  upon  occa- 
sion might  act  together  and  form  one.  The  seven  succeed- 
ing sovereigns  of  Mayapan  embellished  and  improved  the 
country,  and  it  was  very  prosperous.  At  this  time  the  city 
of  Uxmal,  governed  by  one  of  the  Tutul-Xius,  began  to  rival 
the  city  of  Mayapan  in  extent  of  territory  and  in  the  num- 
ber of  its  vassals.  The  towns  of  ISfoxcacab,  Kabah,  Bocal 
and  Nohpat  were  among  its  dependencies. 

The  date  of  the  foundation  of  Uxmal  has  been  fixed  at 
A.  D.  864.  At  this  epoch,  great  avenues  paved  with  stone, 

*  Collection  des  Memoires  sur  I'Ameriqite,  Recueil  des  Pieces  sur  le 
Mexique  trad.,  par  Ternaux-Compans,  p.  307. 
5 


30 

were  constructed,  the  most  remarkable  of  which  appeared  to 
have  been  that  which  extends  from  the  interior  to  the  shores 
of  the  sea  opposite  Cozumel,  upon  the  North-East  coast, 
and  the  highway  which  led  to  Izamal  constructed  for  the 
convenience  of  pilgrims.  A  long  peace  then  reigned  be- 
tween the  princes  of  the  several  principal  cities,  which 
was  brought  to  an  end  by  an  alliance  formed  against  the 
King  of  Mayapan.  The  rulers  of  Chichen  and  Uxmal 
dared  openly  to  condemn  the  conduct  of  the  king  of 
Mayapan,  because  he  had  employed  hirelings  to  protect 
himself  against  his  own  people,  who  were  provoked  by 
his  tyrannical  exactions,  and  had  transferred  his  residence 
to  Kimpech,  upon  which  town  and  neighborhood,  alone,  he 
bestowed  his  royal  favors.  His  people  were  especially 
outraged  by  the  introduction  of  slavery,  which  had  been 
hitherto  unknown  to  them.  A  change  of  rulers  at  Mayapan 
failed  to  allay  the  troubles  in  the  empire,  and  by  a  con- 
spiracy of  the  independent  princes,  the  new  tyrant  of 
Mayapan  was  deposed,  and  he  was  defeated  in  a  three 
days  battle  at  the  city  of  Mayapan.  The  palace  was 
taken,  and  the  king  and  his  family  were  brutally  mur- 
dered. The  city  was  then  given  to  the  flames  and  was 
left  a  vast  and  desolate  heap  of  ruins. 

Then  one  of  the  Tutul-Xius,  prince  of  Uxmal,  on  his 
return,  was  crowned  and  received  the  title  of  supreme 
monarch  of  the  Mayas.  This  king  governed  the  country 
with  great  wisdom,  extending  his  protection  over  the 
foreign  mercenaries  of  the  former  tyrant,  and  offering 
them  an  asylum  not  far  from  Uxmal,  where  are  now 
the  remains  of  the  towns  Fockboc,  Sakbache  and  Lebna. 
It  is  believed  that  the  city  of  Mayapan  was  then  rebuilt, 


31 

and  existed  shorn  of  some  of  its  former  greatness,  but 
later  it  was  again  the  cause  of  dissension  in  the  kingdom, 
and  was  again  destroyed.  This  event  is  said  to  have  occurred 
in  A.  D.  1464.  Peace  then  reigned  in  Yucatan  for  more 
than  twenty  years,  and  there  was  a  period  of  great  abund- 
ance and  prosperity.  At  the  end  of  this  time  the  country 
was  subjected  to  a  series  of  disasters.  Hurricanes  occurred, 
doing  incalculable  damage;  plagues  followed  with  great 
destruction  of  life ;  and  thus  began  the  depopulation  of  the 
peninsula.  Then  the  Spaniards  arrived,  and  the  existence 
of  Indian  power  in  Yucatan  came  to  an  end. 

The  foregoing  is  necessarily  an  abridged,  hastily  written, 
and  very  imperfect  sketch  of  some  of  the  more  prominent 
facts  connected  with  the  supposed  early  history  of  Mayan 
civilization,  which  have  been  brought  together  with  care, 
labor,  and  great  elaboration,  by  the  Abb6  Brasseur  de 
Bourbourg.  Much  of  this  history  is  accepted  as  correct 
from  the  weight  of  the  authorities  which  support  and  cor- 
roborate it,  but  the  whole  subject  is  still  an  open  one  in  the 
opinion  of  scholars  and  archaeologists. 

The  learned  Abbe'  is  now  no  more,  but  the  record  of  his 
labors  exists  in  his  published  works,  and  in  the  impulse  which 
he  gave  to  archaeological  investigations.  We  receive  the 
first  notice  of  his  death  from  Mr.  Hubert  Howe  Bancroft, 
who  pays  the  following  eloquent  tribute  to  his  memory : 
"  Brasseur  de  Bourbourg  devoted  his  life  to  the  study  of 
American  primitive  history.  In  actual  knowledge  per- 
taining to  his  chosen  subjects,  no  man  ever  equalled  or 
approached  him.  Besides  being  an  indefatigable  student, 
he  was  an  elegant  writer.  In  the  last  decade  of  his  life, 
he  conceived  a  new  and  complicated  theory  respecting  the 


32 

origin  of  the  American  people,  or  rather  the  origin  of 
Europeans  and  Asiatics  from  America,  made  known  to 
the  world  in  his  '  Quatre  Lettres?  His  attempted  trans- 
lation of  the  manuscript  Troano  was  made  in  support  of 
this  theory.  By  reason  of  the  extraordinary  nature  of  the 
views  expressed,  and  the  author's  well-known  tendency  to 
build  magnificent  structures  on  a  slight  foundation,  his 
later  writings  were  received,  for  the  most  part  by  critics 
utterly  incompetent  to  understand  them,  with  a  sneer,  or 
what  seems  to  have  grieved  the  writer  more,  in  silence. 
Now  that  the  great  Americanist  is  dead,  while  it  is  not 
likely  that  his  theories  will  ever  be  received,  his  zeal  in 
the  cause  of  antiquarian  science,  and  the  many  valuable 
works  from  his  pen  will  be  better  appreciated.  It  will 
be  long  ere  another  shall  undertake,  with  equal  devotion 
and  ability,  the  well  nigh  hopeless  task."  * 

Among  the  historical  records  relating  to  the  aborigines 
of  Spanish  America,  there  is  none  more  valuable  than  the 
manuscript  of  Diego  de  Landa — Second  Bishop  of  Yucatan, 
in  1573, — which  was  discovered  and  published  by  M.  de 
Bourbourg.  It  contains  an  account  of  the  manners  and 
customs  of  the  Maya  Indians,  a  description  of  some  of  their 
chief  towns ;  and  more  important  than  all  besides,  it  fur- 
nishes an  alphabet,  which  is  the  most  probable  key  that  is 
known  to  us  for  reading  the  hieroglyphics  which  are 
found  upon  many  of  the  Yucatan  ruins.  The  alphabet, 
though  imperfect  in  itself,  may  at  some  future  time  explain, 
not  only  the  inscriptions,  but  also  the  manuscripts  of  this 
ancient  period.  Although  an  attempt  of  its  discoverer,  to 

*  The  Native  Races  of  the  Pacific  States  of  North  America.  By  Hubert  H. 
Bancroft.  San  Francisco,  1875.  Vol.  II.,  page  780. 


33 

make  use  of  the  alphabet  for  interpreting  the  characters  of 
the  manuscript  Troano,  has  failed  to  satisfy  scholars,  its 
study  still  engages  the  attention  of  other  learned  archae- 
ologists and  antiquaries. 

Bishop  Landa  gives  the  following  description  of  Mayan 
manuscripts  or  books  :  "  They  wrote  their  books  on  a  large, 
highly  decorated  leaf,  doubled  in  folds  and  enclosed  be- 
tween two  boards,  and  they  wrote  on  both  sides  in  columns 
corresponding  to  the  folds.  The  paper  they  made  of  the 
roots  of  a  tree,  and  gave  it  a  white  varnish  on  which  one 
could  write  well.  This  art  was  known  by  certain  men  of 
high  rank,  and  because  of  their  knowledge  of  it  they  were 
much  esteemed,  but  they  did  not  practice  the  art  in  public. 
This  people  also  used  certain  characters  or  letters,  with 
which  they  wrote  in  their  books  of  their  antiquities  and 
their  sciences :  and  by  means  of  these,  and  of  figures,  and 
by  certain  signs  in  their  figures,  they  understood  their  writ- 
ings, and  made  them  understood,  and  taught  them.  We 
found  among  them  a  great  number  of  books  of  these 
letters  of  theirs,  and  because  they  contained  nothing  which 
had  not  superstitions  and  falsities  of  the  devil,  we  burned 
them  all ;  at  which  they  were  exceedingly  sorrowful  and 
troubled."  * 

In  Cogolludo's  Historia  de  Yucatan,  there  is  an  account 
of  a  destruction  of  Indian  antiquities  by  Bishop  Landa, 
called  an  auto-da-fe,  of  which  we  give  a  translation : 
"This  Bishop,  who  has  passed  for  an  illustrious  saint 
among  the  priests  of  this  province,  was  still  an  extrava- 
gant fanatic,  and  so  hard  hearted  that  he  became  cruel. 

*  Relation  des  chases  de  Yucatan.    By  Diego  de  Landa,  Paris,  1864,  pp. 
44,  316. 


One  of  the  heaviest  accusations  against  him,  which  his 
apologists  could  not  deny  or  justify,  was  the  famous 
auto-da-fe,  in  which  he  proceeded  in  a  most  arbitrary  and 
despotic  manner.  Father  Landa  destroyed  many  precious 
memorials,  which  to-day  might  throw  a  brilliant  light  over 
our  ancient  history,  still  enveloped  in  an  almost  impenetra- 
ble chaos  until  the  period  of  the  conquest.  Landa  saw  in 
books  that  he  could  not  comprehend,  cabalistic  signs,  and 
invocations  to  the  devil.  From  notes  in  a  letter  written 
by  the  Yucatan  Jesuit,  Domingo  Rodriguez,  in  1805,  we 
offer  the  following  enumeration  of  the  articles  destroyed 
and  burned. 

5000  Idols,  of  distinct  forms  and  dimensions. 
13  Great  stones,  that  had  served  as  altars. 
22  Small  stones,  of  various  forms. 
27  Rolls  of  signs  and  hieroglyphics,  on  deer  skins. 
197  Vases,  of  all  dimensions  and  figures. 

Other  precious  curiosities  are  spoken  of,  but  we  have  no 
description  of  them."  * 

Captain  Antonio  del  Bio  gives  an  account  of  another 
destruction  of  Mayan  antiquities,  at  Huegetan :  "  The 
Bishop  of  Chiapas,  Don  Francisco  Nunez  de  la  Vega,  in 
his  Diocesan  Constitution,  printed  at  Rome  in  1702,  says, 
that  the  treasure  consisted  of  some  large  earthen  vases  of 
one  piece,  closed  with  covers  of  the  same  material,  on  which 
were  represented  in  stone  the  figures  of  the  ancient  pagans 
whose  names  are  in  the  calendar,  with  some  chalchihuitls, 
which  are  solid  hard  stones  of  a  green  color,  and  other 
superstitious  figures,  together  with  historical  works  of  Indian 
origin.  These  were  taken  from  a  cave  and  given  up,  when 

*  Historia  de  Yucatan.    Cogolludo.  Lib.  VI.    Appendix  A,  1. 


35 

they  were  publicly  burned  in  the  square  Huegetan,  on  our 
visit  to  that  province  in  1691."  * 

Prescott  also  mentions  the  destruction  of  manuscripts  and 
other  works  of  art  in  Mexico :  "  The  first  Arch-Bishop  of 
Mexico,  Don  Juan  de  Zumarraga,  a  name  that  should  be  as 
immortal  as  that  of  Omar,  collected  these  paintings  from 
every  quarter,  especially  from  Tescuco,  the  most  cultivated 
capital  of  Anahuac,  and  the  great  depository  of  the  national 
archives.  He  then  caused  them  to  be  piled  up  in  a  moun- 
tain heap,  as  it  was  called  by  the  Spanish  writers  them- 
selves, in  the  market  place  of  Tlatelolco,  and  reduced  them 
all  to  ashes."  f 

It  is  not  then  to  be  wondered  at,  that  so  few  original 
Mayan  manuscripts  have  escaped  and  are  preserved,  when 
such  a  spirit  of  destruction  animated  the  Spanish  priests  at 
the  time  of  the  conquest.  Mr.  Hubert  Howe  Bancroft, 
whom  we  are  happy  to  recognize  as  a  member  of  this 
Society,  in  a  systematic  and  exhaustive  treatment  of  the 
history  and  present  condition  of  the  Indians  of  the  Pacific 
States,  has  presented  a  great  amount  of  valuable  informa- 
tion, much  of  which  has  never  before  been  offered  to  the 
public ;  and  in  his  wide  view,  he  comprehends  important 
observations  on  Central  American  antiquities.  He  gives 
this  account  of  existing  ancient  Maya  manuscripts  or  books. 
"  Of  the  aboriginal  Maya  manuscripts,  three  specimens  only, 
so  far  as  I  know,  have  been  preserved.  These  are  the 
Mexican  Manuscript  No.  2,  of  the  Imperial  Library  at 
Paris;  the  Dresden  Codex,  and  the  Manuscript  Troano. 
Of  the  first,  we  only  know  of  its  existence,  and  the  similarity 


*  Description  of  an  ancient  city  near  Palenque.    Page  32. 
t  Prescott's  Conquest  of  Mexico.    Vol.  I.,  page  101. 


36 

of  its  characters  to  those  of  the  other  two,  and  of  the 
sculptured  tablets.  The  Dresden  Codex  is  preserved  in 
the  Royal  Library  of  Dresden.  The  3£a?iuscript  Troano 
was  found  about  the  year  1865,  in  Madrid,  by  the  Abbe 
Brasseur  de  Bourbourg.  Its  name  comes  from  that  of  its 
possessor  in  Madrid,  Sr.  Tro  y  Ortolano,  and  nothing  what- 
ever is  known  of  its  origin.  The  original  is  written  on  a 
strip  of  maguey  paper,  about  fourteen  feet  long,  and  nine 
inches  wide,  the  surface  of  which  is  covered  with  a  whitish 
varnish,  on  which  the  figures  are  painted  in  black,  red,  blue 
and  brown.  It  is  folded  fan-like  into  thirty-five  folds, 
presenting  when  shut  much  the  appearance  of  a  modern 
large  octavo  volume.  The  hieroglyphics  cover  both  sides 
of  the  paper,  and  the  writing  is  consequently  divided  into 
seventy  pages,  each  about  five  by  nine  inches,  having  been 
apparently  executed  after  the  paper  was  folded,  so  that 
the  folding  does  not  interfere  with  the  written  matter."  * 

It  is  probable  that  early  manuscripts,  as  well  as  others  of 
less  antiquity  than  the  above  mentioned,  but  of  great  histori- 
cal importance,  yet  remain  buried  among  the  archives  of  the 
many  churches  and  convents  of  Yucatan ;  and  it  is  also  true 
that  a  systematic  search  for  them  has  never  been  prosecuted. 
A  thorough  examination  of  ecclesiastical  and  antiquarian  col- 
lections in  that  country,  would  be  a  service  to  the  students 
of  archaeology  which  ought  not  to  be  longer  deferred. 

The  discovery  of  the  continent  of  America  was  made 
near  this  Peninsula,  and  the  accounts  of  early  Spanish 
voyagers  contain  meagre  but  still  valuable  descriptions  of 
the  country,  as  it  appeared  at  the  time  it  was  first  visited  by 

*  The  Native  Races  of  the  Pacific  States.    By  Hubert  Howe  Bancroft.    Vol. 
II.,  page  771. 


37 

Europeans.  It  may  be  interesting  to  call  to  mind  some 
of  the  circumstances  connected  with  their  voyages,  and  with 
the  first  settlement  of  Yucatan  by  the  Spaniards,  and  also 
to  notice  briefly  some  of  the  difficulties  met  with  in  obtain- 
ing a  foot-hold  in  the  new  world. 

Columbus  on  his  fourth  and  last  voyage,  in  1502,  left  the 
Southern  coast  of  Cuba,  and  sailing  in  a  South-westerly 
direction  reached  Guanaja,  an  island  now  called  Bonacca, 
,one  of  a  group  thirty  miles  distant  from  Honduras,  and 
the  shores  of  the  western  continent.  From  this  island  he 
sailed  southward  as  far  as  Panama,  and  thence  returned  to 
Cuba  on  his  way  to  Spain,  after  passing  six  months  on  the 
Northern  coasts  of  Panama.  In  1506  two  of  Columbus' 
companions,  De  Solis  and  Pinzon,  were  again  in  the  Gulf 
of  Honduras,  and  examined  the  coast  westward  as  far  as 
the  Gulf  of  Dulce,  still  locking  for  a  passage  to  the  Indian 
Ocean.  Hence  they  sailed  northward,  and  discovered  a 
great  part  of  Yucatan,  though^ that  country  was  not  then 
explored,  nor  was  any  landing  made. 

The  first  actual  exploration  was  made  by  Francisco  Her- 
nandez de  Cordova  in  1517,  who  landed  on  the  Island  Las 
Mugeres.  Here  he  found  stone  towers,  and  chapels 
thatched  with  straw,  in  which  were  arranged  in  order 
several  idols  resembling  women — whence  the  name  which 
the  Island  received.  The  Spaniards  were  astonished  to  see, 
for  the  first  time  in  the  new  world,  stone  edifices  of  archi- 
tectural beauty,  and  also  to  perceive  the  dress  of  the  natives, 
who  wore  shirts  and  cloaks  of  white  and  colored  cotton, 
with  head-dresses  of  feathers,  and  were  ornamented  with  ear 
drops  and  jewels  of  gold  and  silver.  From  this  island, 

Hernandez  went  to  Cape  Catoche,  which  he  named  from  the 
6 


38 

answer  given  him  by  some  of  the  natives,  who,  when  asked 
what  town  it  was,  answered,  "  Cotohe,"  that  is,  a  house.  A 
little  farther  on  the  Spaniards  asked  the  name  of  a  large 
town  near  by.  The  natives  answered  "Tectatan,"  "Tectatan," 
which  means  "  I  do  not  understand,"  and  the  Spaniards 
thought  that  this  was  the  name,  and  have  ever  since  given  to 
the  country  the  corrupted  name  Yucatan.  Hernandez  then 
went  to  Campeachy,  called  Kimpech  by  the  natives.  He 
landed,  and  the  chief  of  the  town  and  himself  embraced 
each  other,  and  he  received  as  presents  cloaks,  feathers, 
large  shells,  and  sea  crayfish  set  in  gold  and  silver,  together 
with  partridges,  turtle  doves,  goslings,  cocks,  hares,  stags 
and  other  animals,  which  were  good  to  eat,  and  bread  made 
from  Indian  corn,  and  an  abundance  of  tropical  fruits. 
There  was  in  this  place  a  square  stone  tower  with  steps, 
on  the  top  of  which  there  was  an  idol,  which  had  at  its 
side  two  cruel  animals,  represented  as  if  they  were  desirous 
of  devouring  it.  There  was  also  a  great  serpent  forty-seven 
feet  long,  cut  in  stone,  devouring  a  lion  as  broad  as  an  ox. 
This  idol  was  besmeared  with  human  blood.  Champoton 
was  next  visited,  where  the  Spaniards  were  received  in  a 
hostile  manner,  and  were  defeated  by  the  natives,  who 
killed  twenty,  wounded  fifty,  and  made  two  prisoners,  whom 
they  afterwards  sacrificed.  Cordova  then  returned  to  Cuba, 
and  reported  the  discovery  of  Yucatan,  showed  the 
various  utensils  in  gold  and  silver  which  he  had  taken  from 
the  temple  at  Kimpech,  and  declared  the  wonders  of  a 
country  whose  culture,  edifices  and  inhabitants,  were  so 
different  from  all  he  had  previously  seen  ;  but  he  stated 
that  it  was  necessary  to  conquer  the  natives  in  order  to 
obtain  gold,  and  the  riches  which  were  in  their  possession. 


39 

Neither  Kimpech  nor  Champoton  were  under  Mexican 
rule,  but  there  was  frequent  traffic  between  the  Mayas  and 
the  subjects  of  the  empire  of  Anahuac.  Di3go  Velasquez  de 
Leon  was  at  that  time  governor  of  Cuba,  and  he  planned 
another  expedition  into  the  rich  country  just  discovered. 
Four  ships,  equipped  and  placed  under  the  command  of 
Juan  de  Grijalva,  sailed,  in  1518,  and  first  stopped  at 
the  Island  of  Cozumel,  which  was  then  famous  with  the 
Yucatan  Indians*  by  reason  of  an  annual  pilgrimage  of 
which  its  temples  were  the  object.  In  their  progress  along 
the  coast,  the  navigators  saw  many  small  edifices,  which 
they  took  for  towers,  but  which  were  nothing  less  than 
altars  or  teocallis,  erected  to  the  gods  of  the  sea, 
protectors  of  the  pilgrims.  On  the  fifth  day  a  pyramid 
came  in  view,  on  the  summit  of  which  there  was  what 
appeared  to  be  a  tower.  It  was  one  of  the  temples,  whose 
elegant  and  symmetrical  shape  made  a  profound  impression 
upon  all.  Near  by  they  saw  a  great  number  of  Indians 
making  much  noise  with  drums.  Grijalva  waited  for  the 
morrow  before  disembarking,  and  then  setting  his  forces 
in  battle  array,  marched  towards  the  temple,  where  on 
arriving  he  planted  the  standard  of  Castile.  Within  the 
sanctuary  he  found  several  idols,  and  the  traces  of  sacri- 
fice. The  chaplain  of  the  fleet  celebrated  mass  before 
the  astonished  natives.  It  was  the  first  time  that  this 
rite  had  been  performed  on  the  new  continent,  and  the 
Indians  assisted  in  respectful  silence,  although  they  com- 
prehended nothing  of  the  ceremonies.  When  the  priest 
had  descended  from  the  altar,  the  Indians  allowed  the 
strangers  peaceably  to  visit  their  houses,  and  brought  them 
an  abundance  of  food  of  all  kinds.  Grijalva  then  sailed  along 


40 

the  coast  of  Yucatan.  The  astonishment  of  the  Spaniards 
at  the  aspect  of  the  elegant  buildings,  whose  construction 
gave  them  a  high  idea  of  the  civilization  of  the  country, 
increased  as  they  advanced.  The  architecture  appeared  to 
them  much  superior  to  anything  they  had  hitherto  met  with 
in  the  new  world,  and  they  cried  out  with  their  commander 
that  they  had  found  a  New  Spain,  which  name  has  remained, 
and  from  Yucatan  has  been  applied  to  the  neighboring  regions 
in  that  part  of  the  American  continent.  Grijalva  found  the 
cities  and  villages  of  the  South-western  coast  like  those  he 
had  already  seen,  and  the  natives  resembled  those  of  the 
north  and  east  in  dress  and  manners.  But  at  Champoton 
the  Indians  were,  as  before,  hostile,  and  were  ready  to  use 
their  arms  to  repel  peaceful  advances  as  well  as  aggressions. 
The  Spaniards  succeeded  however,  after  a  bloody  struggle, 
in  gaining  possession  of  Champoton  and  putting  the  Indians 
to  flight.  Thence  Grijalva  went  southward  to  the  river 
Tobasco,  and  held  an  interview  with  the  Lord  of  Centla, 
who  cordially  received  him,  and  presents  were  mutually 
exchanged. 

Still  the  native  nobles  were  not  slow  in  showing  that 
they  were  troubled  at  the  presence  of  the  strangers.  Many 
times  they  indicated  with  the  finger  the  Western  country, 
and  repeated  with  emphasis  the  word,  at  that  time  mysteri- 
ous to  Europeans,  Culhua,  signifying  Mexico.  The  fleet 
then  sailed  northward,  exploring  the  coast  of  Mexico  as 
far  as  Vera  Cruz,  visiting  several  maritime  towns.  Fran- 
cisco de  Montejo,  afterwards  so  celebrated  in  Yucatan  history, 
was  the  first  European  to  place  his  foot  upon  the  soil  of 
Mexico.  Here,  Grijalva's  intercourse  with  the  natives  was 
of  the  most  friendly  description,  and  a  system  of  barter  was 


4:1 

established,  by  which  in  exchange  for  articles  of  Spanish 
manufacture,  pieces  of  native  gold,  a  variety  of  golden  orna- 
ments enriched  with  precious  stones,  and  a  quantity  of  cotton 
mantles  and  other  garments,  were  obtained.  Intending  to 
prosecute  his  discoveries  further,  Grijalva  despatched  these 
objects  to  Yelasquez  at  Cuba,  in  a  ship  commanded  by 
Pedro  de  Alvarado,  who  also  took  charge  of  the  sick  and 
wounded  of  the  expedition.  Grijalva  himself  then  ascended 
the  Mexican  coast  as  far  as  Panuco  (the  present  Tampico), 
whence  he  returned  to  Cuba.  By  this  expedition  the 
external  form  of  Yucatan  was  exactly  ascertained,  and 
the  existence  of  the  more  powerful  and  extensive  empire 
of  Mexico  was  made  known. 

Upon  the  arrival  of  Alvarado  at  Cuba,  bringing  wonder- 
ful accounts  of  his  discoveries  in  Yucatan  and  Mexico, 
together  with  the  valuable  curiosities  he  had  obtained  in 
that  country,  Yelasquez  was  greatly  pleased  with  the 
results  of  the  expedition ;  but  was  still  considerably 
disappointed  that  Grijalva  had  neglected  one  of  the  chief 
purposes  of  his  voyage,  namely,  that  of  founding  a  colony  in 
the  newly  discovered  country.  Another  expedition  was 
resolved  on  for  the  purpose  of  establishing  a  permanent  foot- 
hold in  the  new  territory,  and  the  command  was  intrusted 
to  Hernando  Cortez.  This  renowned  captain  sailed  from 
Havana,  February  19,  1519,  with  a  fleet  of  nine  vessels, 
which  were  to  rendezvous  at  the  Island  of  Cozumel.  On 
landing,  Cortez  pursued  a  pacific  course  towards  the  natives, 
but  endeavored  to  substitute  the  Roman  Catholic  religion 
for  the  idolatrous  rites  which  prevailed  in  the  several  tem- 
ples of  that  sacred  Island.  He  found  it  easier  to  induce 
the  natives  to  accept  new  images  than  to  give  up  those  which 


42 

they  had  hitherto  worshipped.  After  charging  the  Indians 
to  observe  the  religious  ceremonies  which  he  had  pre- 
scribed, and  receiving  a  promise  of  compliance  with  his 
wishes,  Cortez  again  sailed  and  doubled  cape  Catoche,  fol- 
lowing the  contour  of  the  gulf  as  far  south  as  the  river 
Tobasco.  Here,  disembarking,  notwithstanding  the  objec- 
tions of  the  Indians,  he  took  possession  of  Centla,  a 
town  remarkable  for  its  extent  and  population,  and  a  centre 
of  trade  with  the  neighboring  empire  of  Mexico,  whence 
were  obtained  much  tribute  and  riches.  After  remain- 
ing there  long  enough  to  engage  in  a  sanguinary  battle, 
which  ended  in  a  decisive  victory  for  "the  Spaniards,  Cortez 
reembarked  and  went  forward  to  his  famous  conquest  of 
Mexico. 

From  the  time  when  Cortez  left  the  river  Tobasco,  his 
mind  was  fixed  upon  the  attractions  of  the  more  distant 
land  of  Mexico,  and  not  upon  the  prosecution  of  further 
discoveries  upon  the  Western  shores  of  Yucatan ;  and  until 
1524,  for  a  period  of  more  than  five  years,  this  peninsula 
remained  unnoticed  by  the  Spaniards.  Then  Cortez  left 
Mexico,  which  he  had  already  subjugated,  for  a  journey  of 
discovery  to  Honduras,  and  for  the  purpose  of  calling  to 
account,  for  insubordination  and  usurpation  of  authority, 
Cristoval  de  Olid,  whom  he  had  previously  sent  to  that 
region  from  Yera  Cruz.  He  received  from  the  princes  of 
Xicalanco  and  Tobasco  maps  and  charts,  giving  the  natural 
features  of  the  country,  and  the  limits  of  the  various  States. 
His  march  lay  through  the  Southern  boundaries  of  the  great 
Mayan  empire.  Great  were  the  privations  of  this  overland 
march,  which  passed  through  a  desolate  and  uninhabited 
region,  and  near  the  ruins  of  Palenque,  but  none  of  the 


43 

historians  of  the  expedition  take  notice  of  the  remains. 
When  Cortez  finally  arrived  at  Nito,  a  town  on  the  border 
of  Honduras,  he  received  tidings  of  the  death  of  Cristoval 
de  Olid,  and  that  his  corning  would  be  hailed  with  joy  by 
the  Spanish  troops  stationed  there,  who  were  now  without 
a  leader.  From  the  arrival  of  Cortez  at  ISIito,  the  associa- 
tion of  his  name  with  the  province  of  Yucatan  is  at  an 
end,  and  the  further  history  of  that  peninsula  was  developed 
by  those  who  afterwards  undertook  the  conquest  of  that 
country. 

Francisco  de  Montejo  was  a  native  of  Salamanca,  in  Spain, 
of  noble  descent  and  considerable  wealth.  He  had  been 
among  the  first  attracted  to  the  new  world,  and  accom- 
panied the  expedition  of  Grijalva  to  Yucatan  in  1518,  and 
that  of  Cortez  in  1519.  By  Cortez  this  captain  was  twice 
sent  to  Spain  from  Mexico,  with  despatches  and  presents 
for  the  Emperor,  Charles  Y.  In  the  year  1527,  Montejo 
solicited  the  government  of  Yucatan,  in  order  to  conquer 
and  pacificate  that  country,  and  received  permission  to  con- 
quer and  people  the  islands  of  Yucatan  and  Cozumel,  at  his 
own  cost.  He  was  to  exercise  the  office  of  Governor  and 
Captain  General  for  life,  with  the  title  of  Adelantado,  which 
latter  office  at  his  death  should  descend  to  his  heirs  and  suc- 
cessors forever.  Montejo  disposed  of  his  hereditary  property, 
and  with  the  money  thus  raised  embarked  with  about  four 
hundred  troops,  exclusive  of  sailors,  and  set  sail  from  Spain 
for  the  conquest  of  Yucatan.  Landing  at  Cozumel,  and 
afterwards  at  some  point  on  the  North-eastern  coast  of  the 
peninsula,  Montejo  met  with  determined  resistance  from 
the  natives;  and  a  battle  took  place  at  Ake,  in  which  one 
hundred  and  fifty  Spaniards  were  killed,  and  nearly  all  the 


44 

remainder  were  wounded,  or  worn  out  with  fatigue.  For- 
tunately, the  Indians  did  not  follow  the  retreating  survivors 
into  their  entrenchments,  or  they  would  have  exterminated 
the  Spaniards.  The  remnants  of  this  force  next  appeared  at 
Campeachy,  where  they  established  a  precarious  settlement, 
and  were  at  last  obliged  to  withdraw,  so  that  in  1535  not  a 
Spaniard  remained  in  Yucatan, 

Don  Francisco  de  Montejo,  son  of  the  Adelantado,  was 
sent  by  his  father  from  Tobasco,  in  1537,  to  attempt  again 
the  conquest  of  Yucatan.  He  made  a  settlement  at  Cham- 
poton,  and  after  two  years  of  the  most  disheartening  experi- 
ences at  this  place,  a  better  fortune  opened  to  the  Spaniards. 
The  veteran  Montejo  made  over  to  his  son  all  the  powers 
given  to  him  by  the  Emperor,  together  with  the  title  of 
Adelantado ;  and  the  new  governor  established  himself  at 
Kimpech  in  1540,  where  he  founded  a  city,  calling  it  San 
Francisco  de  Campeachy.  From  thence  an  expedition 
went  northward  to  the  Indian  town  Tihoo,  and  a  settle- 
ment was  made,  which  was  attacked  by  an  immense  body 
of  natives.  The  small  band  of  Spaniards,  a  little  more 
than  two  hundred  in  all,  were  successful  in  holding  their 
ground,  and,  turning  the  tide  of  battle,  pursued  their 
retreating  foes,  and  inflicted  upon  them  great  slaughter. 
The  Indians  were  completely  routed,  and  never  again  rallied 
for  a  general  battle.  The  conquerors  founded  the  present 
city  of  Merida  on  the  site  of  the  Indian  town,  with  all  legal 
formalities,  in  January,  1542.* 

But  though  conquered  the  Indians  were  not  subjugated. 
They  cherished  an  inveterate  hatred  of  the  Spaniards,  which 
manifested  itself  on  every  possible  occasion,  and  it  required 

*  Historic,  de  Yucatan.    Cogolludo.    Lib.  Ill,  cap.  VII. 


45 

the  utmost  watchfulness  and  energy  to  suppress  the  insur- 
rections which  from  time  to  time  broke  out ;  and  the  com- 
plete pacification  of  Yucatan  was  not  secured  before  the 
year  1547. 

Hon.  Lewis  H.  Morgan,  in  an  interesting  article  in  the 
North  American  Review,  entitled  "  Montezumas  Dinner" 
makes  the  statement  that  "  American  aboriginal  history  is 
based  upon  a  misconception  of  Indian  life  which  has 
remained  substantially  unquestioned  to  the  present  hour." 
He  considers  that  the  accounts  of  Spanish  writers  were 
filled  with  extravagancies,  exaggerations  and  absurdities, 
and  that  the  grand  terminology  of  the  old  world,  created 
under  despotic  and  inonarchial  institutions,  was  drawn  upon 
to  explain  the  social  and  political  condition  of  the  Indian 
races.  He  states,  that  while  "the  histories  of  Spanish 
America  may  be  trusted  in  whatever  relates  to  the  acts 
of  the  Spaniards,  and  to  the  acts  and  personal  characteristics 
of  the  Indians ;  in  whatever  relates  to  Indian  society  and 
government,  their  social  relations  and  plan  of  life,  they  are 
wholly  worthless,  because  they  learned  nothing  and  knew 
nothing  of  either."  On  the  other  hand,  we  are  told  that 
"  Indian  society  could  be  explained  as  completely,  and 
understood  as  perfectly,  as  the  civilized  society  of  Europe  or 
America,  by  finding  its  exact  organization."  *  Mr.  Morgan 
proposes  to  accomplish  this  result  by  the  study  of  the  man- 
ners and  customs  of  Indian  races  whose  histories  are  better 
known.  In  the  familiar  habits  of  the  Iroquois,  and  their 
practice  as  to  communism  of  living,  and  the  construction  of 
their  dwellings,  Mr.  Morgan  finds  the  key  to  all  the  palatial 
edifices  encountered  by  Cortez  on  his  invasion  of  Mexico : 

*  North  American  Review.    Boston,  April,  1876.    No.  251,  page  265. 

7 


46 

and  he  wishes  to  include,  also,  the  magnificent  remains  in 
the  Mayan  territory.  He  would  have  us  believe,  that  the 
highly  ornamental  stone  structures  of  Uxmal,  Chichen-Itza, 
and  Palenque,  were  but  joint  tenement  houses,  which  should 
be  studied  with  attention  to  the  usages  of  Indian  tribes  of 
which  we  have  a  more  certain  record,  and  not  from  con- 
temporaneous historical  accounts  of  eye  witnesses. 

In  answer  to  Mr.  Morgan's  line  of  argument,  it  may  be 
said,  that  the  agreement  of  early  voyagers  and  chroniclers, 
of  whom  there  is  so  large  a  number,  as  to  the  main  facts,  is 
strong  evidence  that  their  impressions,  as  stated,  were 
founded  upon  what  they  saw,  and  not  on  pictures  of  the 
imagination.  Moreover,  the  existing  undecyphered  manu- 
scripts, together  with  the  hieroglyphical  and  symbolical 
inscriptions  upon  buildings,  traced  in  characters  similar  to 
those  found  in  aboriginal  manuscripts,  prove  that  there  was 
a  literature  among  the  Mayan  and  Aztec  races,  which 
places  them  in  a  grade  of  civilization  far  above  that  of 
communistic  Indian  tribes  of  which  we  have  any  record. 
More  than  all,  the  manuscript  of  Bishop  Landa,  an  eye 
witness  of  expiring  Mayan  civilization,  with  its  detailed 
account  of  the  political  and  social  relations  of  the  Indians 
of  that  country,  is  strong  testimony  to  the  correctness 
of  the  generally  accepted  theories  regarding  their  social 
and  political  systems.  The  truthfulness  of  Bishop  Lan- 
da's  account  is  attested  by  its  conformity  to  other  ac- 
counts, and  to  the  customs  and  usages  of  the  Yucatan 
Indians  of  to-day,  as  described  by  recent  travellers.  We 
are  obliged  to  consider  the  argument  of  Mr.  Morgan 
insufficient  to  destroy  tjie  common  opinions  of  three  cen- 
turies and  a  half,  in  so  far  as  relates  to  the  Maya  Indians. 


47 

Mr.  Morgan  also  says  that  "  the  Aztecs  had  no  structures 
comparable  with  those  of  Yucatan."  If  the  only  grounds 
for  this  statement  are,  that  almost  no  ruins  now  remain  in 
that  country,  and  that  the  early  accounts  of  Spanish  writers, 
of  what  they  themselves  saw,  are  considered,  by  him,  untrust- 
worthy, the  weight  of  probability  seems,  to  the  writer  of 
this  paper,  on  the  contrary,  to  lie  in  quite  the  other  direc- 
tion. When  Cortez  left  Havana,  in  1 519,  he  visited  Cozumel, 
famous  for  its  beautiful  temples,  and  Centla,  and  certain 
other  towns  in  Central  America,  on  his  way  to  Mexico. 
Having  thus  seen  the  wonderful  structures  of  Central 
America,  is  it  not  strange,  that  the  historians  of  that  expe- 
dition, and  Cortez  himself,  should  be  tilled  with  wonder 
and  amazement  at  what  they  found  in  Mexico,  to  a  degree 
that  disposed  them  to  give  a  much  more  particular  account 
of  the  Aztec  palaces  than  of  Yucatan  buildings,  if  they  were 
inferior  to  them  in  point  of  architecture  ?  Mexico  has  since 
that  time  been  more  populous  than  Yucatan,  and  its  ruins 
have  naturally  disappeared  more  rapidly  in  the  construction 
of  modern  buildings  ;  but  the  records  of  its  former  civilization 
exist  in  the  accounts  of  the  discoverers,  and  in  the  numerous 
relics  of  antiquity  contained  in  the  museums  of  Mexico,  and 
scattered  about  in  the  archaeological  collections  of  Europe 
and  America.  The  celebrated  calendar  stone  found  buried 
in  the  Plaza  Mayor  of  Mexico,  and  now  preserved  in  that 
city,  demonstrates  the  astronomical  advancement  of  the 
Aztecs  in  an  incontrovertible  manner,  and  that  monument 
alone  would  establish  their  advanced  position. 

The  observations  and  conclusions  of  a  traveller  and  archae- 
ologist of  large  experience,  as  to  the  condition  of  Central 
America  at  the  time  of  its  discovery  and  settlement  by  the 


48 

Spaniards,  are  contained  in  the  valuable  monograph  of  Dr. 
C.  Hermann  Berendt,  the  discoverer  of  the  site  of  ancient 
Centla,  who  having  made  a  special  study  of  the  antiquities  of 
that  country  in  five  expeditions,  each  of  several  years  dura- 
tion, is  entitled  to  special  consideration  as  one  who 
knows  whereof  he  speaketh.*  This  writer,  while  he  con- 
cedes the  insufficiency  of  consulting  the  records  of  Spanish 
writers  alone,  thinks  that  archaeology  and  linguistics  will 
at  length  furnish  us  the  means  of  reading  these  records 
with  positive  results,  as  well  as  help  us  to  a  better 
understanding  of  the  early  history  of  this  continent.  He 
says  "  Central  America  was  once  the  centre,  or  rather  the 
only  theatre  of  a  truly  American,  that  is  to  say,  indigenous, 
development  and  civilization.  It  was  suggested  by  Hum- 
boldt  half  a  century  ago,  that  more  light  on  this  subject  is 
likely  to  be  elicited,  through  the  examination  and  comparison 
of  what  palpably  remains  of  the  ancient  nations,  than  from 
dubious  traditions,  or  a  still  more  precarious  speculation. 
And  such  palpable  remains  we  have,  in  their  antiquities 
and  in  their  languages.  Thus  linguistic  science  has  begun 
to  invade  the  field  of  American  ethnology :  and  let  it  not 
be  forgotten  that  this  science  is  as  little  bound,  as  it  is 
qualified,  to  perform  the  whole  task  alone :  archaeology  must 
lend  a  helping  hand.  We  must  have  museums,  in  which 
the  plastic  remains  of  the  ancient  American  civilizations, 
either  original,  or  in  faithful  imitations,  shall,  in  as  large 
numbers  as  possible,  be  collected,  and  duly  grouped  and 
labelled,  according  to  the  place  and  circumstances  of  their 
discovery." 

*  Remarks  on  the  centres  of  ancient  civilization  in  Central  America,  and  their 
geographical  distribution.  Address  before  the  American  Geographical  Society, 
by  Dr.  C.  Hermann  Berendt.  New  York,  1876. 


4:9 

The  plan  for  the  study  of  Mayan  and  Central  American 
ethnology,  as  indicated  by  Dr.  Berendt,  seems  to  agree  most 
fully  with  the  views  entertained  by  some  of  the  later  writers 
in  the  publications  of  the  Societe  Am^ricaine  de  France,  and 
may  be  thus  stated  in  brief.  First^  The  Study  of  Native 
Languages.  Second,  The  Study  of  the  Antiquities  them- 
selves. Third)  The  formation  of  Museums,  where  ma- 
terials for  archaeological  research  may  be  brought  together, 
and  made  accessible  and  available.  From  the  study  of 
aboriginal  American  history  in  this  practical  way,  the  most 
satisfactory  results  can  not  fail  to  be  reached. 

In  this  brief  hour,  it  would  be  impossible  to  describe  and 
elucidate  this  interesting  subject,  if  the  ability  were  not 
wanting;  but  it  may  be  accepted  as  a  welcome  service, 
that  draws  the  attention  of  this  Society  to  an  important 
field,  which  the  Socie'te'  Americaine  de  France,  and  other 
European  archaeologists,  are  regarding  with  increased 
interest. 


DR.  LE  PLONGEON  IN  YUCATAN 


HIS   ACCOUNT  OF  DISCOVERIES. 


DR.  LE  PLONGEON  IN  YUCATAN. 


THE  DISCOVERY  OF  A  STATUE  CALLED  CHAC-MOOL,  AND  THE  COMMU- 
NICATIONS OF  DR.  AUGUSTUS  LE  PLONGEON  CONCERNING 
EXPLORATIONS  IN  THE  YUCATAN  PENINSULA. 


[Proceedings  of  the  American  Antiquarian  Society,  April  25, 1877.] 


THE  most  perfect  remains  of  a  high  degree  of  early  civil- 
ization on  this  continent  are  to  be  found  in  ruins  in  the  cen- 
tral portions  of  America.  Proofs  of  the  extraordinary 
advancement  of  the  inhabitants  of  those  regions,  in  archi- 
tecture and  art,  at  an  early  period,  are  not  derived  alone 
or  principally  from  the  accounts  of  Spanish  voyagers  and 
chroniclers,  which  agree  substantially  in  the  statements  of 
their  observations,  but  much  more  from  the  well-preserved 
ruins  of  numerous  beautiful  buildings,  constructed  of  stone, 
many  of  them  ornamented  with  bas-reliefs  and  hieroglyphics. 
In  Mexico,  about  which  Spanish  historians  of  the  time  of 
Cortez  and  after,  have  written  with  more  particularity, 
the  vestiges  of  the  civilization  of  the  16th  or  previous 
centuries  have,  in  a  great  measure,  been  obliterated  by  the 
more  complete  and  destructive  subjugation  suffered  at  the 
hands  of  the  conquerors,  and  by  the  continuous  occupa- 
tion of  the  acquired  provinces.  Probably  the  early  con- 
structions of  the  Mexicans  were  not  generally  composed  of 
so  durable  materials  as  those  of  the  neighboring  peninsula. 
Without  discussing  this  point,  the  fact  remains  that  Yuca- 
tan, together  with  much  of  the  territory  of  Guatemala, 
Chiapas,  and  Tabasco,  is  strewn  with  ruins  of  a  character 
which  command  the  admiration  and  challenge  the  investiga 
tion  of  antiquaries.  Waldeck,  Stephens,  Charnay,  and 


55 

Brasseur  de  Bourbourg,  have  brought  these  wonders  of  an 
extinct  civilization  to  the  knowledge  of  the  world.  Since 
their  investigations  have  ceased,  and  until  recently,  but  little 
has  been  done  in  this  Held.  In  1873,  however,  Dr.  Augus- 
tas Le  Plongeon,  a  native  of  the  island  of  Jersey,  of  French 
parentage,  together  with  his  wife,  Mrs.  Alice  Dixon 
Le  Plongeon,  an  English  lady,  attracted  by  the  wealth  of 
opportunity  offered  to  them  for  archaeological  study  in 
Yucatan,  visited  that  country,  and  have  been  and  are  still 
actively  engaged  in  exploring  its  ruins,  photographing  and 
taking  plans  of  the  buildings,  and  in  making  excavations, 
which  have  resulted  in  securing  to  the  scientific  world,  a 
masterpiece  of  antique  sculpture  differing  essentially  from 
all  specimens  known  to  exist  of  American  aboriginal 
art. 

Dr.  Le  Plongeon  is  an  enthusiast  in  his  chosen  career,  that 
of  an  archaeologist  and  an  explorer.  Without  the  energy  and 
strong  imagination  he  has  displayed,  he  would  not,  alone 
and  unassisted,  have  braved  the  dangers  and  privations  of  a 
prolonged  residence  in  the  wilds,  surrounded  by  perils  from 
exposure  to  a  tropical  climate,  and  from  the  dangerous  prox- 
imity of  hostile  savages.  All  that  can  be  learned  of  the 
life  of  this  investigator  is,  that  he  was  educated  at  Paris,  and 
in  184:9  went  to  California  as  an  engineer,  and  there  laid 
out  the  town  of  Marysville.  Then  he  visited  Peru,  and 
travelled  with  Mr.  Squire  and  took  photographs  of  ruins. 
He  came  to  New  York  in  1871,  with  three  valuable  paint- 
ings, which  he  had  procured  in  Peru,  two  of  them  said  to 
be  Mnrillo's,  and  the  other  the  work  of  Juan  del  Castillo, 
Murillo's  first  master.  A  long  account  of  these  pictures 
appears  in  the  "New  York  Evening  Mail"  of  March  2, 1871. 
He  took  them  to  England  in  the  same  year,  and  is  said 
to  have  sold  them  to  the  British  Museum.  Since  his 
residence  in  Yucatan,  both  the  Doctor  and  Mrs.  Le  Plongeon 
have  been  engaged  in  archaeological  studies  and  explora- 
tions among  the  ruins  of  Chichen-Itza,  Uxmal,  and  Ak6,  and 


56 

they  have  also  visited  other  ruins  in  the  eastern  part  of 
Yucatan,  together  with  those  of  the  once  famous  islands  of 
Cozumel  and  Mugeres,  and  have  there  pursued  the  same 
system  of  investigation.  They  are  at  present  at  Belize, 
British  Honduras,  where  this  explorer  is  awaiting  a  reply  to 
his  appeal,  as  an  American  citizen,  to  our  Minister  at  Mexico 
for  redress  for  the  loss  of  the  statue  which  he  had  discov- 
ered, and  which  has  been  removed  by  the  government  to 
Mexico,  without  his  knowledge  or  consent,  to  be  there  placed 
in  the  National  Museum.  The  writer  is  in  possession  of 
many  of  Dr.  Le  Plongeon's  letters  and  communications,  all 
of  them  in  English,  and  very  interesting  to  antiquarian 
students.  It  is  regretted  that  the  shortness  of  time 
since  receiving  the  more  important  of  these  documents  will 
prevent  doing  justice  to  the  very  elaborate  and  extended 
material  which  is  at  hand ;  but  it  is  with  the  hope  that  inter- 
est and  cooperation  may  be  awakened  in  Dr.  Le  Plongeou 
and  his  labors,  that  this  crude  and  unsatisfactory  state- 
ment, and  imperfect  and  hasty  reference  to  his  letters,  is 
presented. 

The  conspicuous  results  of  Dr.  Le  Plongeon's  active  and 
successful  labors  in  the  archaeological  field,  about  which 
there  can  be  no  controversy,  are  the  wonderful  statue 
which  he  has  disinterred  at  Chichen-Itza,  and  a  series  of 
137  photographic  views  of  Yucatan  ruins,  sculptures  and 
hieroglyphics.  All  of  the  photographs  are  similar  to  those 
which  appear  in  heliotype,  diminished  in  size,  as  illus- 
trations of  this  paper.  They  consist  of  portraits  of  Dr.  Le 
Plongeon  and  of  his  wife ;  8  photographs  of  specimen  sculp- 
ture— among  them  pictures  of  men  with  long  beards;  7  pho- 
tographs of  the  ruins  of  Ak6,  showing  the  arrangement  of 
so-called  Katuns — the  Maya  method  of  chronology  ;  12 
photographs  of  Yucatan  Indians  ;  60  photographs  of  the 
ruins  of  Uxmal ;  and  48  photographs  of  the  ruins  of 
Chichen-Itza,  including  twelve  views  relating  to  the  dis- 
covery of  a  statue  called  Chac-Mool.  These  pictures, 


57 

and  the  relics  found  in  the  excavation  from  which  the 
Btatne  was  exhumed,  as  well  as  the  discovered  statue, 
are  valuable  acquisitions,  and  establish  a  strong  claim  to 
the  gratitude  of  the  scientific  world.  Besides  these  arti- 
cles, the  original  head  and  feet  of  a  female  idol  in  plaster, 
from  the  Island  of  Mugeres,  have  been  discovered  by  Dr. 
Le  Plongeon,  which  have  not  yet  been  brought  to  public  no- 
tice. Of  this  antique  figure  Dr.  Le  Plongeon  says,  in  a  letter 
to  the  writer:  "  Whilst  at  Mugeres  Island  I  had  the  good 
fortune  to  find  the  statue  of  one  of  the  priestesses  of  the 
shrine  of  the  Maya  Venus,  whose  ruins  stand  at  the  south- 
ernmost end  of  the  island,  on  the  very  brink  of  the  cliff. 
It  was  entire,  but  the  men,  not  knowing  how  to  handle  this 
object,  when  first  disinterred  broke  it  to  pieces.  I  was  only 
able  to  save  the  face  and  feet.  They  are  full  of  interest, 
not  only  artistically  speaking,  but  also  historically,  inasmuch 
as  they  seem  to  prove  the  ancient  relations  that  existed 
between  the  people  of  Mayapan  and  the  inhabitants  of  the 
west  coast  of  Africa.  The  teeth,  like  those  of  Chac-Mool, 
are  filed  like  a  saw.  This  was  the  custom  among  per- 
sons of  high  rank  in  Mayapan,  as  it  is  even  to-day  with 
some  of  the  African  tribes,  whilst  the  sandals  are  exact 
representations  of  those  found  on  the  feet  of  the  Guanches, 
the  early  inhabitants  of  the  Canary  Islands,  whose  mummies 
are  yet  occasionally  met  with  in  the  caves  of  Teneriffe  and 
the  other  isles  of  the  group.  These  relics,  I  am  certain,  are 
the  last  of  high  art  to  be  found  on  the  Island  of  Mugeres. 
The  sea  is  fast  eating  the  base  of  the  promontory  where 
stands  the  shrine.  Part  of  it  has  already  fallen  into  the 
sea,  and  in  a  few  years  not  a  stone  will  remain  to  indicate 
the  place  where  stood  this  altar." 

•  The  photographs  relating  to  the  discovery  of  the  statute  of 
Chac-Mool  are  found  in  a  series  of  twelve  pictures,  herewith 
presented  in  the  plates  which  follow.  It  is  upon  this  dis- 
covery, as  will  be  seen  from  his  Mexican  Memorial,  that 
Dr.  Le  Plongeon  has  relied  more  than  upon  any  other 


58 

result  of  his  labors,  for  fame  arid  remuneration.  The 
statue  was  exhumed,  according  to  the  account  in  the 
Mexican  Memorial^  in  consequence  of  interpretations  of 
certain  mural  tablets  and  hieroglyphics,  which  the  discoverer 
and  his  able  coadjutor,  Mrs.  Le  Flongeon,  found  in  the 
building  shown  in  the  pictures  1  and  2  on  the  opposite 
page,  upon  the  sonth-east  wall  of  the  so-called  Gym- 
nasium,* which  Dr.  Le  Plongeon  says  was  erected  by 
the  queen  of  Itza,  to  the  memory  of  Chac-Mool,  her  hus- 
band. As  may  be  seen  from  a  careful  inspection  of  the  pic- 
ture, the  stone  building  is  decorated  by  a  belt  of  tigers, 
with  an  ornament  separating  them,  which  may  have  been 
the  "totem." 

The  exact  spot  whence  this  statue  was  exhumed  cannot  be 
certainly  stated,  though  among  the  plates  which  represent 
the  discovery  are  two  which  may  reasonably  be  supposed  to 

DESCRIPTION     OF     PLATE. 


1  Represents  the  building  at  the  southern  extremity  of  the  eastern  wall  of 
the  so-called  Gymnasium  described  by  Stephens— Travels  in  Yucatan,  vol.  II., 
page  308.  It  is  supposed  by  Dr.  Le  Plongeon  to  have  been  a  monument  to  the 
chieftain  Chac-Mool. 

2.  This  picture  shows  the  upper  portion  of  the  same  edifice,  in  which  were 
found  "  the  mural  paintings,  bas-reliefs  and  other  signs,"  which  gave  a  clue  to 
the  discovery  of  the  statue. 

3  Shows  probably  the  locality  where  the  statue  was  excavated.  The  same 
sculptured  slabs  that  appear  in  picture  8  in  the  foreground  on  the  right,  are 
seen  resting  against  a  mound,  in  their  supposed  original  position,  and  serve  to 
indicate  the  identity  of  the  localities.  In  the  rear  of  the  slabs  is  probably  the 
heap  of  stones  forming  the  pedestal  for  the  stone  figure  of  a  tiger  spoken  of  in 
the  *•  Mexican  Memorial." 

4.  This  is  probably  another  view  in  the  immediate  neighborhood.  Among 
the  scattered  debris  is  the  sculptured  head  of  a  serpent,  with  open  jaws. 

5  Represents  the  sculptured  slabs,  which  are  seen  also  in  pictures  3,  6  and  8. 
They  are  of  unequal  width,  but  the  length  and  thickness  was  probably  the 
same  in  each. 

6.  Another  view  of  the  sculptured  slabs.  The  first  shows  a  bird  of  prey; 
this  is  apparently  a  tiger.  Both  of  them  hold  in  their  grasp  objects  of  a 
similar  character. 

NOTE.  Several  of  these  pictures  are  described  in  the  Mexican  Memorial, 
but.  fire  then1  iliffi  n-nth 


*  Stephens'  Travels  in  Yucatan,  Vol.  II.,  page  303. 


Heliotype  Printing  Company. 


Boston. 


Decorated  Building  at  Chicken- Itza,  Yucatan,  and  the  external  appearance 
of  the  place  wJience  the  Statue  was  exhumed  by 
Dr.  Augustus  LePlongeoii. 


59 

exhibit  the  locality.  One  of  these  pictures  shows  the 
sculptured  slabs  which  may  have  decorated  the  mound 
where  the  excavation  was  made,  and  which  again  appear 
on  the  side  of  the  opening  through  which  the  statue 
is  seen  emerging.  The  slabs  are  elaborately  wrought,  and 
represent,  the  one  a  tiger  holding  something  in  his  paw,  and 
the  other  a  bird  of  prey,  with  talons  similarly  employed. 

During  the  early  portion  of  his  residence  and  explora- 
tions at  Chichen-Itza,  Dr.  Le  Plongeon  was  assisted  by 
Government  troops,  who  acted  as  a  guard  against  hostile 
Indians — sublivados* — as  these  ruins  lie  outside  the  limits  of 
territory  considered  safe  for  occupation  ;  and  though  this 
protection  was  soon  withdrawn,  and  the  discoverer  was 
obliged  to  rely  solely  upon  arms  furnished  to  his  laborers, 
still  he  was  not  disheartened  by  the  dangers  of  his  under- 
taking, nor  dissuaded  by  the  appeals  of  his  friends  from 
persevering  in  his  labors. 

The  iirst  object  discovered  at  this  place,  as  will  be  learned 
from  the  Mexican  Memorial,  was  a  long  stone,  half  interred 
among  the  others,  which  proved  to  be  the  base  of  a  sculp- 

*  The  hostile  Indians  (sublivados)  so  often  spoken  of  by  Dr.  Le 
Plongeon  in  his  communications,  are  a  body  of  revolted  natives, 
variously  estimated  at  from  50,000  to  140,000.  They  are  called  Indians 
of  Chan- Santa-Cruz,  from  the  name  of  their  chief  town,  in  the  south- 
eastern part  of  the  peninsula.  During  political  troubles  in  1847,  a 
formidable  rising  of  Indians  against  the  whites  took  place  in  Yucatan, 
which  has  not  yet  been  subdued.  Nearly  every  year  the  frontier  towns 
and  plantations  bordering  upon  the  territory  of  these  rebels,  suffer  from 
their  attacks;  their  inhabitants  are  slain  and  their  property  is  destroyed. 
So  formidable  is  this  enemy  that  at  one  time  their  soldiers,  said  to  be 
supplied  with  English  arms,  advanced  to  within  15  miles  of  the  city  of 
Merida.  As  matters  stand  to-day,  about  two-flfths  of  the  territory  of 
the  state  is  in  their  power,  and  a  large  number  of  the  best  plantations 
in  the  peninsula  are  deserted. 

A  friend,  Sr.  Dn.  Andres  Aznar  Perez,  of  Merida,  a  gentleman  of  large 
public  spirit  and  much  knowledge  of  this  subject,  informs  the  writer  that 
"the  principal  Indian  leaders  in  the  revolution  of  1847,  were  the  cruel 
Cicilio  Chi',  and  Jacinto  Pat,  the  latter  assassinated  for  his  sympathy 
with  the  whites.  Crecencio  Poot  (spoken  of  by  Dr.  Le  Plongeon),  is  one 


60 

tured  reclining  tiger,  of  much  the  same  size,  proportions 
and  execution  as  the  statue  of  Chac-Mool,  as  is  apparent 
from  a  photograph  of  the  tiger  in  the  general  collection. 
The  head,  of  human  form,  which  was  wanting,  was 
afterwards  found  at  some  distance,  in  a  pile  of  carved 
stones.  The  next  objects  that  appeared  were  the  bas-reliefs, 
presumably  those  pictured  in  3,  5,  6  and  8.  The  mound  of 
stones  where  the  excavation  was  made  was,  according  to  Dr. 
Le  Plongeon,  the  pedestal  that  supported  the  effigy  of  the 
tiger.  Work  was  commenced  at  the  top  of  the  heap  of 
stones,  which  were  rudely  thrown  together,  rendering  the 
labor  difficult  and  dangerous.  An  excavation  was  made 
measuring  7  meters  in  depth,  which  was  protected  by  a 
trestle-work,  and  at  this  depth  a  rough  calcareous*  stone  urn 
was  secured  which  contained  a  little  dust,  and  upon  it  a 
coarse  earthen  cover.  This  was  near  the  head  of  the  statue, 
which  then  appeared.  The  work  of  liberating  the  statue 
required  a  deepening  of  the  trench  1^  meters  more.  A 
picture  in  heliotype  copied  from  a  series  of  six  photographs, 
showing  the  various  positions  assumed  by  the  figure  during 
the  process  of  excavation,  can  be  consulted  upon  the 
second  page  following.  This  work  of  art  was  raised  by 
Dr.  Le  Plongeon,  with  the  assistance  of  his  wife  and  ten 

of  their  later  leaders.  I  am  well  convinced  that  the  revolt  of  our  Indians 
will  never  be  brought  to  an  end  by  force,  as  has  been  thus  far  pretended. 
I  call  this  unfortunate  race  noble,  and  well  it  deserves  the  title  if  we  fol- 
low dispassionately  the  sufferings  it  has  had  to  endure  from  the  remote 
times  of  the  conquest  until  the  present,  with  habits  so  moderate,  so 
frugal,  so  mild,  that  only  the  inhuman  treatment  of  civil  as  well  as 
religious  authorities  has  been  able  to  exasperate  them.  Theirs  have  been 
always  the  sufferings,  the  labors— never  the  enjoyments — that  accompany 
enlightenment  and  healthy  morality."  An  extended  and  unprejudiced 
account  of  this  rebellion  has  just  been  published  at  Merida,  called 
"  Historia  de  las  Sevohtciones  de  Yucatan,"  by  Sr.  D.  Serapio  Baqueiro, 
in  two  volumes,  which  covers  a  period  from  1840  to  1864.  For  years  a 
constant  military  surveillance  of  the  main  avenues  of  approach  from 
the  eastern  and  south-eastern  sections  of  the  state  has  been  maintained 
at  a  great  expense  to  the  government  without  affording  adequate  pro- 
tection against  periodical  hostile  incursions. 


61 

Indian  laborers,  by  his  own  ingenuity,  and  without  other 
engineering  apparatus  than  he  had  contrived  from  the 
trees  and  vines,  making  use  also  of  the  bark,  from  which  he 
constructed  ropes.  Dr.  Le  Plongeon,  in  a  private  letter  to 
the  writer,  says,  "  The  statue  is  carved  out  of  a  single  block 
of  beautifully  white  and  homogeneous  limestone.  It  is 
naked,  and  the  peculiar  ornament  suspended  by  a  rib- 
bon tied  on  the  back  of  the  neck,  that  is  seen  on  the 
chest,  is  the  distinctive  mark  of  high  rank.  This  same 
ornament  is  seen  on  the  chests  of  all  the  personages 
who  were  entitled  to  carry  three  feathers  on  their  heads. 
The  band  that  composes  the  head-dress  was  formed  of 
pieces  of  an  octagonal  shape,  joined  together,  and  is 
fastened  by  ribbons  also  on  the  back  of  the  head.  The 
figure  had  bracelets  and  garters  of  feathers,  and  the  sandals, 
quite  different  from  those  used  by  the  present  inhabitants  of 
the  country,  were  tied  to  the  feet  and  legs,  and  resemble 
those  found  on  the  mummies  of  the  Guanehes,  the  ancient 
inhabitants  of  the  Canary  Islands.  There  were  no  ear  laps, 
but  square  tablets  appear  in  place  of  the  ears,  on  which  are 
hieroglyphics  giving  the  name,  condition,  &c.,  &c.,  of  the 
personage  represented  by  the  statue.  It  is  not  an  idol,  but 
a  true  portrait  of  a  man  who  has  lived  an  earthly  life.  1 
have  seen  him  represented  in  battle,  in  councils,  arid  in  court 
receptions.  I  am  well  acquainted  with  his  life,  and  the 
manner  of  his  death.  The  scientific  world  owes  much  to 
Mrs.  Le  Plongeon  for  the  restoration  of  the  mural  paintings 
where  his  history  and  the  customs  of  his  people  are  por- 
trayed ;  and  where  Stephens  has  been  unable  to  see  more 
than  a  few  figures,  she  has  discovered  the  history  of  a  peo- 
ple and  of  their  leaders." 

"  The  name,  Chac-Mool,  or  Balarn,  and  the  names  of  his 

two  brothers,  Huuncay  and  Aac,  the  latter  the  builder  of 

the  i  House  of  the  Governor'  at  Uxmal,  are  not  given  by 

us  at  random.     They  are  written  on  the  monuments  where 

9 


G2 

represented,  written  in  characters  just  as  intelligible  to  my 
wife  and  myself,  as  this  paper  is  to  you  in  latin  letters.  Every 
person  represented  on  these  monuments  is  known  to  us  by 
name,  since  either  over  the  head  or  at  the  feet,  the  name 
is  written.  We  have  tracings  of  the  mural  paintings  as  seen 
on  the  walls  of  the  inner  chamber  of  the  monument  raised 
by  the  queen  of  Itza  to  the  memory  of  her  husband, 
Chac-Mool.  Stephens  mistook  it  for  a  shrine  where  the 
winners  at  the  games  of  ball  were  wont  to  make  offerings 
to  the  presiding  idol.  In  your  paper  you.  have  copied  part 
of  his  description  of  that  monument.  But  the  statue  of 
Chac-Mool  was  not  exhumed  in  it  as  yon  assert,  but  four 
hundred  yards  from  it,  in  the  midst  of  the  forest.  No 
traveller  or  writer  has  ever  indicated  the  place  where  it 
lay  buried,  and  it  is  by  deciphering  the  meaning  of  some 

DESCRIPTION     OF    PLATE. 


7  Represents  the  statue  of  Chac-Mool  uncovered  at  the  depth  of  8  meters. 
At  the  sides  are  seen  the  frame-\\ork  "of  trunks  of  trees  of  2  to  2£  inches  in 
diameter,  secured  with  vines."  The  inclined  plane  on  which  it  was  drawn  to 
the  surface  is  visible,  as  are  some  of  the  ten  Indian  laborers,  in  working 
costume. 

8.  The  statue  has  now  been  drawn  to  the  upper  part  of  the  inclined  plane. 
The  ropes  of  habin  bark  are  attached  to  the  figure.  Near  the  sculptured  slabs 
at  the  right,  already  shown  in  3,  5  and  6,  Mrs.  Le  Plongeon  appears  seated. 

9  Shows  the  capstan  that  served  to  raise  the  statue,  the  size  of  which  is  ap- 
parent by  comparison  with  the  figure  of  the  Indian  near  it. 

10  Apparently  the  same  locality  as  4.    The  method  of  moving  the  statue  over 
the  fragments  of  sculpture  and  other  impediments  is  shown. 

11.  The  size  and  appearance  of  the  statue,  "  half  as  large  again  as  the  natural 
size,"  is  here  dfctinctly  pictured,  together  with  Dr.  Le  Plongeon  standing  in  the 
rear  of  his  discovery.     The  head-dress,  trappings   and  sandals  are  clearly 
defined. 

12.  The  statue  is  seen  on  the  rude  wagon  on  which  it  had  been  transported  to 
Piste,  a  distance  of  3  or  4  miles.    In  the  rear  is  seen  the  stone  church  of  Piste, 
surmounted  by  a  cross,  described  in  (Jharnay's  Cites  et  Ruines  Americaines, 
page  336,  and  by  Dr.  Le  Plongeon,  in  the  Mexican  Memorial.    Nearly  all  the 
small  towns  have  similar  Churches,  built  from  the  ruins  of  Indian  buildings.  It 
is  probable  that  some  of  the  choicest  works  of  art,  too  large  to  be  easily 
destroyed,  were  put  out  of  sight  in  the  construction  of  these  edifices  by  the 
fanatical  conquerors  of  the  IGth  century. 

NOTK.  The  numbers  of  the  pictures  do  not  agree  with  those  in  the  Mexican 
Memorial. 


Heliotype  Printing  Company. 


Boston. 


Statue  at  Chichen-Itza,  Yucatan,  in  process  of  exhumation  by  Dr.  Augustus 

LePlongeon,  showing  the  engineering  process  by  which 

it  was  accomplished. 


63 

hieroglyphics  and  mural  paintings,  that  we  came  to  a 
knowledge  of  the  place.  The  building  with  tigers  and 
shields  was  simply  a  monument  dedicated  to  his  memory." 

It  appears  that  Dr.  Le  Plongeon,  on  his  arrival  in 
Yucatan,  in  1873,  first  visited  Uxrnal,  where  he  made 
explorations  and  took  photographs.  He  then  prepared 
himself  to  undertake  the  more  difficult  and  dangerous 
visit  to  Chichen-Itza.  While  there,  the  discovery  of  the 
statue,  Ohac-Mool,  was  made,  and  it  was  excavated  in  the 
manner  described  by  the  discoverer  in  the  last  pages 
of  the  Mexican  Memorial.  Dr.  Le  Plongeon  had  formed 
a  design  of  sending  the  statue  and  certain  bas-reliefs, 
together  with  plans  and  photographs,  to  the  Centennial 
Exhibition,  and  had  prepared  these  articles  for  removal, 
when  a  sudden  revolution  occasioned  the  disarming  of 
his  Indian  laborers,  who  for  some  time  had  served  for 
a  protection,  and  all  further  operations  were  suspended, 
as  longer  residence  in  that  exposed  region  without  arms 
was  sheer  madness.  It  was  at  that  time  that  Dr.  Le 
Plongeon  wrote  the  following  Memorial  to  the  Mexican 
President,  Senor  Don  Sebastian  Lerdo  de  Tejada,  which  is 
given  nearly  entire,  as  it  makes  a  statement  of  his  claims 
and  wishes,  and  contains  very  important  information  con- 
cerning the  discovery  of  the  statue,  and  gives  an  idea 
of  his  method  of  exploration. 

The  account  here  given  of  experiences  resulting  in  a  dis- 
covery so  surprising,  must  interest  even  those  sceptical  in 
regard  to  the  progress  in  art  of  the  American  aborigines; 
and  it  must  also  be  remembered  that,  almost  without 
exception,  late  as  well  as  early  travellers  in  this  re- 
gion have  become  enthusiastic  and  imaginative  when  brought 
into  contact  with  these  monuments  of  a  measureless  past,* — 


*This  idea  was  better  expressed  by  our  learned  associate,  Mr.  Haven, 
in  Proceedings  of  this  Society,  No.  55,  page  56,  in  commenting  upon 
the  works  of  Brasseur  de  Bourbourg. 


64 

none  of  them  more  so,  perhaps,  than  Brasseur  de  Bourbourg, 
whose  works  nevertheless  contain  a  mine  of  most  valuable 
information  aside  from  hypotheses. 

Accompanying  the  Memorial,  a  set  of  photographs,  some 
of  them  similar  to  those  copied  in  heliotype,  was  sent  to 
Mexico  for  the  information  of  the  President,  but  the  num- 
bers in  the  last  pages  of  that  paper,  referring  to  the  special 
set  of  photographs,  do  not  correspond  to  the  pictures  pre- 
sented here,  as  there  were  no  means  of  verifying  the  sub- 
jects, except  from  the  descriptions. 

NOTE.— It  will  be  observed  that  Dr.  Le  Plongeon's  spelling  of  the 
word  Chac-Mool,  differs  from  that  adopted  by  the  writer  in  deference  to 
prevailing  usage  in  Yucatan.  The  discoverer  always  spells  the  word 
Chaacmol,  although  in  the  long  letter  to  the  writer,  on  the  subject  of 
Maya  antiquities,  introduced  at  the  close  of  this  paper,  the  more  usual 
spelling  has  been  adopted  by  the  printer,  contrary  to  the  text  of 
Dr.  Le  Plongeon. 

MEMORIAL  PRESENTED  TO  THE    MEXICAN  GOVERNMENT,  AND  AFTER- 
WARDS   PUBLISHED  IN  THE  OFFICIAL  JOURNAL  OF  YUCATAN, 

APRIL  19  AND  21,  1876. 

To  the  President  of  the  Mexican  Republic, 

SENOR  DON  SEBASTIAN  LERDO  DE  TEJADA. 
Sir: 

I,  AUGUSTUS  LE  PLONGEON,  Doctor  in  Medicine,  member  of  the 
Academy  of  Sciences  of  the  State  of  California,  of  the  Microscopical 
Society  of  San  Francisco,  of  the  Philological  Society  of  New  York, 
corresponding  member  of  the  Geographical  and  Statistical  Society  of 
Mexico;  and  of  various  other  scientific  societies  of  Europe,  of  the 
United  States  of  America,  and  of  South  America;  citizen  of  the  United 
States  of  America ;  resident  at  present  in  Merida,  Capital  of  the  State 
of  Yucatan,  to  you,  with  due  respect,  say :  Since  the  year  1861  I  am 
dedicated  to  the  iconology  of  American  antiquities,  with  the  object 
of  publishing  a  work  that  may  make  known  to  the  world  the  precious 
archaeological  treasures  that  the  regions  of  the  so-called  new  world 
enclose,  nearly  unknown  to  the  wise  men  of  Europe,  and  even  to  those 
of  America  itself,  and  thus  follow  the  perigriuatious  of  the  human  race 
upon  the  planet  that  we  inhabit. 

With  so  important  an  object,  I  visited  the  different  countries  of 
the  American  Continent,  where  I  could  gather  the  necessary  infor- 
mation to  carry  through  my  work,  already  commenced,  and  in  part 


65 

published,  "  The  Vestiges  of  the  human  race  in  the  American  Continent 
since  the  most  remote  times." 

The  New  York  Tribune  published  part  of  my  discourse  before  the 
Geographical  Society  of  New  York,  on  the  "Vestiges  of  Antiquity," 
in  its  Lecture  Sheet  No.  8  of  1873. 

After  traversing  the  Peruvian  Andes,  the  Glaciers  of  Bolivia,  and  the 
Deserts  of  the  North  and  North-East  part  of  the  Mexican  Republic,  in 
search  of  the  dwellings  of  their  primitive  inhabitants,  I  resolved  to 
visit  Yucatan,  in  order  to  examine  at  leisure  the  imposing  ruins  that 
cover  its  soil,  and  whose  imperfect  descriptions  I  had  read  iu  Stephens, 
Waldeck.  Charnay,  Brasseur  de  Bourbourg,  and  others. 

The  atmospheric  action,  the  inclemencies  of  the  weather,  and  more 
than  all,  the  exuberant  vegetation,  aided  by  the  impious  and  destruct- 
ive hand  of  ignorant  iconoclasts,  have  destroyed  and  destroy  inces- 
santly these  opera  magna  of  an  enlightened  and  civilized  generation 
that  passed  from  the  theatre  of  the  world  some  twelve  thousand 
years  ago,  if  the  stones,  in  their  eloquent  muteness,  do  not  deceive. 
And  unless  the  few  treasures  that  yet  remain,  in  a  state  of  more  or  less 
perfect  preservation,  be  gathered  and  saved,  they  will  before  long  disap- 
pear completely,  and  with  them  the  last  traces  of  the  high  civilization, 
the  artistic  and  scientific  culture  attained  by  the  architects  and  other 
artists  that  worked  and  raised  them,  under  the  protection  of  enlightened 
potentates,  lovers  of  all  that  was  grand,  and  of  everything  that  could 
glorify  their  country. 

The  results  of  my  investigations,  although  made  in  territories  forbid- 
den to  the  whites,  and  even  to  pacific  Indians  obedient  to  Mexi- 
can authority;  surrounded  by  constant  dangers,  amid  forests,  where, 
besides  the  wild  beasts,  the  fierce  Indians  of  Chan- Santa-Cruz  lay  in 
ambush  for  me ;  suffering  the  pangs  of  hunger,  in  company  with  my 
young  wife  Alice  Dixon  Le  Plongeon,  have  surpassed  my  most  flattering 
hopes.  To-day  I  can  assert,  without  boasting,  that  the  discoveries  of  my 
wife  and  myself  place  us  in  advance  of  the  travellers  and  archaeol- 
ogists who  have  occupied  themselves  with  American  antiquities. 

Returning  however  to  civilization  with  the  hope  of  making  known  to 
the  scientific  world  the  fruit  of  our  labors,  I  am  sorry  to  find  myself 
detained  by  prohibitive  laws  that  I  was  ignorant  of,  and  which  prevent 
me  from  presenting  the  unmistakable  proofs  of  the  high  civilization 
and  the  grandeur,  of  ancient  America;  of  this  old  Continent  of  Professor 
Agassiz  and  other  modern  geologists  and  archaeologists. 

These  laws,  sanctioned  by  an  exclusive  and  retrogressive  government, 
have  not  been  revoked  up  to  the  present  time  by  the  enlightened,  pro- 
gressive and  wise  government  that  rules  the  destinies  of  the  Mexican 
Republic,  and  they  are  a  barrier  that  henceforth  will  impede  the  investi- 
gation of  scientific  men,  among  the  ruins  of  Yucatan  and  Mexico.  It  is 
iu  effect  a  strange  fact,  that  while  autocratic  governments,  like 
those  of  Turkey,  Greece,  and  Persia,  do  not  interpose  difficulties — that 


66 

of  Turkey  to  Dr.  Henry  Schliemann,  after  discovering  the  site  of  the 
celebrated  Troy  and  the  treasures  of  King  Priam,  to  his  carrying  his 
findings  and  presenting  them  to  the  civilized  world;  that  of  Greece  to 
General  Cesnola's  disposing  in  New  York  of  his  collection  of  Phoenician 
antiquities  (the  only  one  in  the  world),  found  in  the  tombs  of  the  Island 
of  Cyprus.  Nor  did  even  that  of  Persia  think  of  preventing  Mr. 
George  Smith,  after  he  had  disinterred  from  among  the  ruins  of  Nineveh, 
the  year  before  last,  the  libraries  of  the  kings  of  Assyria,  from  carrying 
the  precious  volumes  to  the  British  Museum,  where  they  are  to  be  found 
to-day.  I  alone,  a  free  citizen  of  a  Republic,  the  friend  of  Mexico,  after 
spending  my  fortune  and  time,  see  myself  obliged  to  abandon,  in  the 
midst  of  the  forests,  the  best  and  most  perfect  works  of  art  of  the 
sculptor,  up  to  the  present  time  known  in  America,  because  the  govern- 
ment of  this  Nation  reclaims  as  its  own,  objects  found  in  the  midst  of 
forests,  at  great  depths  below  the  surface  of  the  earth,  and  of  whose 
existence  it  was  not  only  ignorant,  but  was  even  unsuspicious. 

The  photographs  of  these  objects,  and  of  the  places  where  they  were 
found,  are  all  that,  with  plans,  and  tracings  of  most  interesting  mural 
paintings,  I  can  now  present :  and  that  after  so  many  expenses,  cares, 
and  dangers,  unless  you,  Mr.  President,  considering  the  historical  im- 
portance of  my  discoveries  and  works,  as  an  illustrious  man,  a  lover  of 
progress,  and  the  glory  of  his  country,  in  the  name  of  the  nation 
authorize  me  to  carry  my  findings  and  photographs,  plans  and  tracings, 
to  that  great  concourse  of  all  nations  to  which  America  has  just  invited 
every  people  of  the  earth,  and  which  will  be  opened  shortly  in  Phila- 
delphia; and  with  them  the  material  proofs  of  my  assertion  that  America 
is  the  cradle  of  the  actual  civilization  of  the  world. 

Leaving  New  York  on  the  29th  of  July,  1873,  we,  Mrs.  Le  Plongeon 
and  myself,  arrived,  on  the  6th  of  August,  at  Progreso.  We  remained 
in  Merida  from  that  date,  studying  the  customs  of  the  country,  acquir- 
ing friends,  and  preparing  to  fulfil  the  mission  that  had  brought  us  to 
Yucatan,  (viz:  the  study  of  its  ruins),  until  the  6th  of  November,  1874. 
At  that  epoch  the  epidemic  of  small-pox,  that  has  made  such  ravages  in 
Merida,  and  is  yet  active  in  the  interior  villages  of  the  Peninsula, 
began  to  develop  itself.  Senor  D.  Liborio  Irigoyen,  then  Governor, 
knowing  that  I  was  about  to  visit  the  towns  of  the  east,  to  seek 
among  their  inhabitants  the  traditions  of  the  past,  if  they  yet  ex- 
isted, or  at  least  among  their  customs  some  of  those  of  the  primi- 
tive dwellers  of  those  lauds,  begged  me  to  scatter  among  them  the  vac- 
cine, to  ward  off,  as  much  as  possible,  the  terrible  scourge  that  threat- 
ened them.  I  accepted  the  commission,  and  to  the  best  of  my  power  I 
have  complied  with  it,  without  any  remuneration  whatever.  After  ex- 
amining the  principal  cities  of  the  east  of  the  State— Tunkas,  Cenotillo, 
Espita  and  Tizimin — gathering  notes  upon  their  commerce,  the  occupa- 
tions of  their  inhabitants,  the  productions  of  the  places,  etc.,  etc.,, 
remaining  in  them  more  or  less  time,  we  finally  arrived  at  Valladolid  on 


67 

the  20th  of  May,  1875.  This  city,  that  was  at  one  time  among  the  most  im- 
portant of  the  State,  is  seen  to-day  almost  reduced  to  ruins  by  the  inva- 
sions of  the  Indians  of  Chan-Santa-Cruz.  It  is  situated  on  the  frontier 
of  the  enemy's  country,  some  twelve  leagues  from  the  celebrated  ruins 
of  Chichen-Itza — the  objective  point  of  my  jonrney  to  these  regions. 
During  my  perigrinations  through  the  east,  I  had,  more  than  once,  op- 
portunity to  observe  the  profound  terror  that  the  inhabitants,  as  well 
mestizos  and  Indians  as  the  whites,  have,  not  without  reason,  of  their 
fierce  neighbors. 

In  view  of  the  dangers  that  awaited  us,  I  thought  proper  to  write  to 
my  good  friend,  General  Don  Guillermo  Palomino,  sub-inspector  of  the 
military  posts  of  Yucatan;  so  that,  without  prejudice  to  the  service, 
he  should  give  orders  to  the  commander  of  the  post  of  Piste,  distant  one 
league  from  the  ruins  of  Chichen,  to  succor  us  in  case  we  should  need 
his  aid. 

General  Palomino,  understanding  the  importance  of  my  undertaking, 
interested  himself  in  the  result.  He  wrote  to  Don  Filipe  Diaz,  chief  of 
the  military  line  of  the  east,  so  that  he  should  give  orders  to  his  subal- 
tern, the  commander  of  the  advance-post  of  PistS,  that  in  case  of  neces- 
sity he  should  furnish  my  wife  and  myself  the  protection  we  might 
need  while  in  Chichen. 

After  many  delays,  owing  now  to  one  thing,  now  to  another,  but  more 
particularly  to  the  alarming  reports  that  the  Indians,  or  at  least  their 
emissaries  and  spies,  prowled  about  the  neighborhood,  we  at  last  started 
on  the  march  in  the  direction  of  Piste  on  the  21st  of  September,  1875. 

Colonel  Diaz  was  about  to  visit  the  posts  under  his  command.  This 
gentleman,  as  much  to  respect  the  orders  of  his  superior  as  to  give  me 
a  proof  of  his  appreciation  of  my  person,  resolved  to  accompany  us  to 
Chichen  with  part  of  his  forces.  He  did  so,  leaving  Valladolid  protected 
by  a  company  of  his  battalion,  and  another  of  the  18th  regiment  of  the 
line  which  at  the  time  was  stationed  in  that  city.  Arrived  at  the  village 
of  Oitas,  we  learned  that  the  old  footpath,  the  only  one  that  had  ever 
existed  between  this  point  and  Piste,  four  leagues  distant,  was  entirely 
closed  up,  impassable,  consequently,  for  horsemen. 

Colonel  Don  Jos6  Coronado,  who,  from  esteem,  had  also  wished  to 
accompany  us,  offered  to  go  forward  with  a  part  of  the  company,  and 
some  Indians,  to  re  open -the  road,  and  make  it  ready.  His  offer 
accepted,  he  departed,  and  a  few  days  later  we  were  able  to  continue 
our  march  to  Pist6,  not  meeting  in  the  transit  other  annoyance  than  the 
roughness  of  the  road,  the  roots  and  tree  trunks  that  had  obstructed  it 
having  been  removed. 

So,  on  the  27th  of  September,  after  a  tedious  march  of  six  hours  in 
the  thicket,  we  reached  the  advance-post  of  PistS. 

Pist6,  ten  years  ago,  was  a  pretty  village,  built  amid  forests,  around 
a  senote  of  thermal  waters,  surrounded  by  most  fertile  lands,  which  the 
industrious  dwellers  cultivated.  Suddenly,  on  a  certain  Sunday  (elec- 


68 

tion  day) ,  when  they  were  entertained  at  the  polls,  the  ominous  war-cry 
of  the  Indians  of  Chan- Santa-Cruz  fell  upon  their  ears.  Few  were  the 
villagers  that,  taking  refuge  in  the  bush,  escaped  the  terrible  machete  of 
their  enemies.  Of  this  village  only  the  name  remains.  Its  houses 
roofless,  their  walls  crumbled,  are  scarcely  seen  beneath  the  thick  green 
carpet  of  convolvulus,  and  cowage  (mecuna).  These  overspread  them 
with  their  leaves  and  beautiful  petals,  as  if  to  hide  the  blood  that  once 
stained  them,  and  cause  to  be  forgotten  the  scenes  of  butchery  they 
witnessed.  The  church  alone,  sad  and  melancholy,  without  doors,  its 
sanctuaries  silent,  its  floor  paved  with  the  burial  slabs  of  the  victims, 
surrounded  by  parapets,  yet  stands  in  the  midst  of  the  ruined  abodes  of 
those  who  used  to  gather  under  its  roof;  it  is  to-day  converted  into  a 
fortress.  The  few  soldiers  of  the  post  are  the  only  human  beings  that 
inhabit  these  deserts  for  many  leagues  around ;  its  old  walls,  its  belfry, 
widowed  of  its  bells,  are  all  that  indicates  to  the  traveller  that  Piste" 
once  was  there. 

After  resting,  we  continued  our  march  to  Chichen,  whose  grand 
pyramid  of  22  meters  50  centimeters  high,  with  its  nine  andenes, 
could  be  seen  from  afar  amidst  the  sea  of  vegetation  that  surrounded  it, 
as  a  solitary  lighthouse  in  the  midst  of  the  ocean.  Night  had  already 
fallen  when  we  reached  the  Casa  principal  of  the  hacienda  of  Chichen, 
that  Colonel  Coronado  had  had  cleaned  to  receive  us. 

At  dawn  on  the  following  day,  28th,  Colonel  Diaz  caused  parapets  to 
be  raised  and  the  house  to  be  fortified.  He  placed  his  advance  sentinels 
and  made  all  necessary  arrangements  to  avoid  a  surprise  from  the 
Indians,  and  to  resist  them  in  case  of  attack.  For  my  part  I  immediately 
commenced  work.  From  the  descriptions  made  by  the  travellers  who 
had  preceded  me  and  that  I  had  read,  I  believed  fifteen  days  or  three 
weeks  would  be  sufficient  for  me  to  investigate  all  the  ruins.  But  on 
the  12th  of  October,  Colonel  Diaz  having  received  notice  that  the 
Indians  were  probably  preparing  an  attack,  sent  to  bring  me  from 
the  ruins,  to  communicate  to  me  the  news  that  he  had  to  march  imme- 
diately. I  had  really  scarcely  commenced  my  studies,  notwithstanding 
I  had  worked  every  day  from  sunrise  to  sunset,  so  many  and  so  im- 
portant were  the  monuments  that,  very  superficially,  my  predecessors 
had  visited. 

I  resolved  to  remain  with  my  wife,  and  continue  our  investigations 
until  they  should  be  completed,  in  spite  of  the  dangers  that  surrounded 
us.  I  made  known  my  unalterable  resolution  to  Colonel  Diaz,  asking 
him  only  to  arm  a  few  of  the  Indians  that  remained  with  me,  for  I  did 
not  wish  even  a  single  soldier  of  the  post  of  Piste  to  accompany  me. 
Leaving  my  instruments  of  geodesy  and  photography  at  the  ruins,  I 
made  the  church  of  Piste  my  head-quarters,  where  we  went  every  night 
to  sleep,  returning  always  at  daylight  to  Chichen,  one  league  distant. 

It  would  be  too  long  to  give  here  the  details  of  my  work  and  investi- 
gations. Enough  to  say,  that  from  the  28th  of  September,  1875,  when  I 


69 

began  to  study  the  monuments,  up  to  the  5th  of  January,  1876,  when, 
learning  of  the  prohibitive  laws  I  have  already  mentioned,  and  that  on 
account  of  the  better  requirements  of  the  service  I  was  to  disarm  my 
men,  I  interrupted  my  works ;  that  is  to  say,  in  one  hundred  days  I  have 
made  scrupulously  exact  plans  of  the  principal  edifices,  discovering 
that  their  architects  made  use,  in  those  remote  times,  of  the  metrical 
measure  with  its  divisions.  I  have  made  five  hundred  stereoscopic 
views,  from  which  I  have  selected  eighty,  equal  to  those  that  accompany 
this  writing;  I  have  discovered  hieroglyphics  which  I  have  caused  to 
reappear  intact,  and  taken  photographs  of  some  that  are  said  to  be  a 
prophecy  of  the  establishment  of  the  electric  telegraph  between  Sad 
(Valladolid  of  to-day),  and  Ho  (Merida) ;  I  have  restored  rnural  paintings 
of  great  merit  for  the  drawing,  and  for  the  history  they  reveal ;  I  have 
taken  exact  tracings  of  the  same  which  form  a  collection  of  twenty 
plates,  some  nearly  one  meter  long;  I  have  discovered  bas-reliefs 
which  have  nothing  to  envy  in  the  bas-reliefs  of  Assyria  and  Babylon; 
and,  guided  by  my  interpretations  of  the  ornaments,  paintings,  &c., 
&c.,  of  the  most  interesting  building  in  Chichen  (historically  speak- 
ingj,  I  have  found  amidst  the  forest,  eight  meters  under  the  soil,  a 
statue  of  Chaacmol,  of  calcareous  stone,  one  meter,  fifty-five  centi- 
meters long,  one  meter,  fifteen  centimeters  in  height,  and  eighty  centi- 
meters wide,  weighing  fifty  kilos,  or  more;  and  this  I  extracted  without 
other  machine  than  that  invented  by  me,  and  manufactured  from  trunks 
of  trees  with  the  machete  of  my  Indians.  I  have  opened  two  leagues 
of  carriage  road  to  carry  my  findings  to  civilization;  and  finally  I  have 
built  a  rustic  cart  in  which  to  bring  the  statue  to  the  high  road  that 
leads  from  Oitas  to  Merida.  This  statue,  Mr.  President,  the  only  one 
of  its  kind  in  the  world,  shows  positively  that  the  ancient  inhabitants 
of  America  have  made,  in  the  arts  of  drawing  and  sculpture,  advances, 
equal  at  least  to  those  made  by  the  Assyrian,  Chaldean  and  Egyptian 
artists. 

I  will  pause  a  moment  to  give  you  an  idea  of  my  works  that  concern 
said  statue,  and  soon  bring  to  an  end  this  writing.  Guided,  as  I  have 
just  said,  by  my  interpretations  of  the  mural  paintings,  bas-reliefs,  and 
other  signs  that  I  found  in  the  monument  raised  to  the  memory  of  the 
Chief  Chaacmol,  by  his  wife,  the  Queen  of  Chichen,  by  which  the  stones 
speak  to  those  who  can  understand  them,  I  directed  my  steps, 
inspired  perhaps  also  by  the  instinct  of  the  archaeologist,  to  a  dense  part 
of  the  thicket.  Only  one  Indian,  Desiderio  Kansal,  from  the  neigh- 
borhood of  Sisal-Valladolid,  accompanied  me.  With  his  machete  he 
opened  a  path  among  the  weeds,  vines  and  bushes,  and  I  reached  the 
place  I  sought.  It  was  a  shapeless  heap  of  rough  stones.  Around  it 
were  sculptured  pieces  and  bas-reliefs  delicately  executed.  After 
cutting  down  the  bush,  and  clearing  the  spot,  it  presented  the  aspect 
which  the  plates  No.  1  and  2  represent.  A  long  stone,  half  interred 
among  the  others,  attracted  my  attention.  Scraping  awav  the  earth 
10 


70 

from  around  it,  with  the  machete  and  the  hand,  the  effigy  of  a  reclining 
tiger  soon  appeared;  plate  No.  3  represents  it.  But  the  head  was 
wanting.  This,  of  human  form,  I  had  the  happiness  to  find,  some 
meters  distant,  among  a  pile  of  other  carved  stones. 

My  interpretations  had  been  correct;  everything  I  saw  proved  it  to 
me.  I  at  once  concentrated  all  my  attention  at  this  spot.  Hunting 
among  the  debris,  I  came  across  the  bas  reliefs  seen  in  plates  4,  2,  and  5, 
which  confirmed  my  conclusions.  This  pile  of  stones  had  been  in  times 
past  the  pedestal  that  supported  the  effigy  of  the  dying  tiger  with  a 
human  head,  which  the  Toltecs  had  thrown  down  when  they  invaded 
Chichen,  at  the  beginning  of  the  Christian  era. 

With  great  exertion,  aided  by  levers,  my  ten  men  again  put  these 
bas-reliefs  in  the  place  they  anciently  occupied,  and  which  plate  No.  1 
shows. 

Resolved  to  make  an  excavation  at  this  spot,  I  commenced  1113'  work 
at  the  upper  part  of  the  heap.  I  was  not  long  in  comprehending  the 
difficulty  of  the  task.  The  pedestal,  as  in  all  the  later  monuments  which 
were  raised  in  Chichen,  was  of  loose  stones,  without  mortar,  without 
cement  of  any  kind.  For  one  stone  that  was  removed,  a  hundred  fell. 
The  work  was  hence  extremely  dangerous.  I  possessed  no  tools,  nor 
machines  of  any  description.  I  resorted  to  the  machete  of  my  Indians, 
the  trees  of  the  forest,  and  the  vines  that  entwine  their  trunks.  I 
formed  a  frames-work  to  prevent  the  falling  of  the  stones. 

This  frame- work  appears  in  plates  6,  7  and  8.  It  is  composed  of 
trunks  of  trees  of  two  to  two-and-a-half  inches  in  diameter,  secured 
with  vines.  In  this  way  I  was  able  to  make  an  excavation  two  meters, 
fifty  centimeters  square,  to  a  depth  of  seven  meters.  I  then  found  a 
rough  sort  of  urn  of  calcareous  stone;  it  contained  a  little  dust,  and 
upon  it  the  cover  of  a  coarse  earthen  pot,  painted  with  yellow  ochre. 
(This  cover  has  since  been  broken).  It  was  placed  near  the  head  of  the 
statue,  and  the  upper  part,  with  the  three  feathers  that  adorn  it,  ap- 
peared among  loose  stones,  placed  around  it  with  great  care.  Colo- 
nel D.  Daniel  Traconis,  who  had  that  day  come  to  visit,  and  bring  me 
a  few  very  welcome  provisions,  was  present  when  it  was  discovered.  I 
continued  the  work  with  precaution,  and  had  the  satisfaction,  after  ex- 
cavating one-and-a-half  meters  more,  to  see  the  entire  statue  appear. 

Contemplating  this  admirable  specimen  of  ancient  art,  seeing  the 
beauty  of  the  carving  of  its  expressive  face,  I  was  filled  with  admira- 
tion!  Henceforth  the  American  artists  could  enter  into  competition 
with  those  of  Assyria  and  Egypt !  But,  on  considering  its  enormous 
weight,  its  colossal  form  (it  is  half  as  large  again  as  the  natural  size),  I 
felt  myself  overwhelmed  with  dismay.  How  to  raise  it  from  the  pro- 
found bed  where  it  had  been  deposited,  five  thousand  years  ago,  by  its 
friends  and  the  artificers,  who  with  excessive  care  raised  the  pedestal 
around  it!  I  had  no  machines,  not  even  ropes.  Only  ten  Indians 


71 

accompanied  me.  The  enterprise  was  difficult;  but  when  man  wishes, 
he  conquers  difficulties,  and  smooths  all  obstacles. 

After  some  sleepless  nights  (the  idea  of  being  unable  to  present  my 
discoveries  to  the  world  did  not  let  me  rest),  I  resolved  to  open  the 
pedestal  on  the  east  side,  form  an  inclined  plane,  construct  a  capstan, 
make  ropes  with  the  bark  of  the  habin  (a  tree  that  grows  in  these 
woods),  and  extract,  by  these  means,  my  gem  from  the  place  where  it 
lay. 

Plate  fi  represents  the  opening  made,  and  the  inclined  plane,  the  lower 
part  of  which  only  reaches  to  the  shoulder  of  the  statue,  which  is  seen 
in  the  bottom  of  the  excavation.  Its  depth  is  known  by  comparing  the 
height  of  the  Indian  standing  near  the  statue,  and  the  one  who  is 
placed  at  a  third  part  of  the  inclined  plane. 

Plate  No  7  represents  the  statue  of  Chaacmol  at  the  moment  of  its 
arrival  at  the  upper  part  of  the  plane  on  the  surface  of  the  earth;  the 
cables  of  the  habin  bark  which  served  to  extract  it;  the  construction  of 
the  capstan ;  and  the  profundity  of  the  excavation. 

Plate  No.  8  represents  the  capstan  that  served  me  to  raise  the  statue, 
the  size  of  which  you  may  know,  Sr.  President,  comparing  it  with  your 
servant  and  the  Indians  who  aided  at  the  work.  The  trunk  of  a  tree, 
with  two  hollowed  stones,  were  the  fundamental  pieces  of  the  machine. 
These  rings  of  stone  were  secured  to  the  trunk  with  vines.  Two 
forked  poles,  whose  extremities  rest  at  each  side  of  the  excavation,  and 
the  forked  sticks  tied  up  to  the  superior  ring  embracing  it,  served  as 
arc-boutant  in  the  direction  where  the  greatest  force  was  to  be  applied. 
A  tree-trunk,  with  its  fork,  served  as  a  fulcrum  around  which  was  wound 
the  cable  of  bark.  A  pole  placed  in  the  fork  served  as  lever.  It  is  with 
the  aid  of  this  rustic  capstan  that  my  ten  men  were  able  to  raise  the 
heavy  mass  to  the  surface  in  half  an  hour. 

But  my  works  were  not  to  end  there.  True,  the  statue  was  on  the 
surface  of  the  earth,  but  it  was  surrounded  by  debris,  by  ponderous 
stones,  and  trunks  of  trees.  Its  weight  was  enormous  compared  with 
the  strength  of  my  few  men.  These  on  the  other  hand  worked  by 
halves.  They  always  had  the  ear  attentive  to  catch  the  least  sound 
that  was  perceived  in  the  bush.  The  people  of  Crecencio  Poot  might 
fall  upon  us  at  any  moment,  and  exterminate  us.  True,  we  had  senti- 
nels, but  the  forest  is  thick  and  immense,  and  those  of  Chan-Santa- 
Cruz  make  their  way  through  it  with  great  facility. 

Open  roads  there  were  none,  not  even  to  carry  the  statue  of  Chaacmol 
to  civilization  if  I  had  the  means  of  transport. 

Well,  then,  I  had  resolved  that,  cost  what  it  might,  the  world  should 
kno\v  my  statue — my  statue,  that  was  to  establish  my  fame  forever 
among  the  scientific  circles  of  the  civilized  world.  I  had  to  carry 

it,  but,  alas !  I  calculated  without  the  prohibitive  laws 

Sr.  President,  to-day,  with  jrrief  I  write  it,  it  is  buried  in  the  forests, 
where  my  wife  and  myself  have  concealed  it.  Perhaps  the  world  will 


72 

only  know  it  by  my  photographs,  for  I  have  yet  to  open  three  long 
leagues  of  road  to  conduct  it  to  Oitas,  and  the  moment  is  already 
approaching  when  the  doors  of  the  American  Exhibition  will  open. 

With  all  that,  I  have  faith  in  the  justice,  intelligence,  and  patriotism 
of  the  men  who  rule  the  destinies  of  the  Mexican  Republic. 

Will  the  man  who,  to  place  his  country  at  the  height  of  other  civil- 
ized nations,  has  known  how  to  improvise,  in  less  than  three  months, 
an  astronomical  commission,  and  send  it  to  Japan  to  observe  the  transit 
of  Venus,  will  he  permit,  I  ask,  the  greatest  discovery  ever  made 
in  American  archeology,  to  remain  lost  and  unknown  to  the  scientific 
men,  to  the  artists,  to  the  travellers,  to  the  choicest  of  the  nations  that 
are  soon  to  gather  at  Philadelphia?  No !  I  do  not  believe  it !  I  do  not 
wish  to,  I  cannot  believe  it ! 

These  difficulties,  I  had  conquered !  Plate  No.  9  proves  how,  having 
found  the  means  of  raising  the  statue  from  the  depth  of  its  pedestal,  I 
knew  also  how  to  make  it  pass  over  the  debris  that  impeded  its  progress. 
My  few  men  armed  with  levers  were  able  to  carry  it  where  there  was 
a  rustic  cart  made  by  me  with  a  machete. 

With  rollers  and  levers  I  was  able  to  carry  it  over  the  sculptured 
stones,  its  companions,  that  seemed  to  oppose  its  departure.  But  with 
rollers  and  levers  alone  I  could  not  take  it  to  Piste,  four  kilometers 
distant,  much  less  to  Oitas,  distant  from  Piste  sixteen  kilometers;  it 
needed  a  cart  and  that  cart  a  road. 

Sr.  President,  the  cart  has  been  made,  the  road  has  been  opened 
without  any  expense  to  the  State.  In  fifteen  days  the  statue  arrived  at 
Pist6,  as  proved  by  plate  11.  Senor  D.  Daniel  Traconis,  his  wife  and 
their  young  son,  who  had  come  to  visit  us,  witnessed  the  triumphal 
entrance  of  the  Itza  Chieftain  Chaacmol,  at  Piste,  the  first  resting  place 
on  the  road  that  leads  from  Chichen  to  Philadelphia.  I  have  opened 
more  than  three  kilometers  of  good  cart  road  of  five  to  six  meters  in 
width,  from  Piste  toward  Oitas ;  but  for  reasons  that  it  is  out  of  place 
to  refer  to  here,  and  which  I  have  not  been  able  up  to  the  present  time 
to  alter,  for  they  do  not  depend  on  me,  I  have  seen  myself  compelled 
to  hurriedly  abandon  my  works  on  the  6th  of  the  present  month  of 
January.  . 

I  have  come  with  all  speed  to  Merida,  from  which  place  I  direct  to  you 
the  present  writing;  but  until  now,  having  to  contend  against  inertia,  I 
have  obtained  nothing. 

In  view  of  the  preceding  relation,  and  finding  myself  in  disposition 
to  make,  before  the  scientific  world,  all  the  explanations,  amplifications 
and  reports,  that  may  be  desired,  upon  the  grand  discoveries  that  I 
have  made  in  my  investigations  in  the  ruins  of  Chichen ;  —  among 
others,  the  existence  of  long-bearded  men  among  the  inhabitants  of  the 
Peninsula  12,000  years  ago,  plate  12; —  I  conclude,  asking  you,  Sr. 
President,  to  be  pleased  to  concede  to  me : — 

1st.    To  carry  the  statues  of  Chaacmol,  and  some  bas-reliefs  that 


73 

have  relation  to  the  story  of  that  Chieftain,  and  are  represented  in  the 
plates  4  and  5,  together  with  my  mural  tracings,  plans  and  photographs, 
to  the  approaching  Exposition  of  Philadelphia. 

2nd.  To  name  me  one  of  the  members  of  the  Mexican  Commission 
to  that  Exposition,  for  I  am  the  only  person  who  can  give  the  informa- 
tion and  explanations  that  may  make  known  the  celebrated  monuments 
of  Chichen-Itza,  and  the  importance  that  they  have  in  the  prehistoric 
history  of  the  human  race  in  America. 

3rd.  To  authorize  my  work  and  investigations  in  the  ruins  of  Yuca- 
tan, where  I  hope  to  make  other  discoveries  equally  and  even,  perhaps, 
more  important,  than  those  made  by  me  up  to  the  present  date,  ordering 
that  the  aid  of  armed  force  be  afforded  me  for  my  protection  and  that  of 
my  wife,  whenever  our  investigations  are  made  in  places  where  life  is 
endangered  by  hostile  Indians. 

4th.  That  among  the  objects  which  the  Mexican  nation  have  to  send 
to  the  Exposition  of  Philadelphia,  a  place  be  reserved  to  me,  sufficient 
for  the  statues,  bas-reliefs,  drawings,  photographs  and  plans  that  have 
caused  this  petition. 

5th.  That  in  consequence  of  the  short  time  that  remains  before  the 
opening  of  said  Exposition,  and  the  amount  that  yet  remains  for  me  to 
do,  particularly  the  opening  of  a  cart  road  of  13  kilometers  in  a  thick 
forest  in  a  country  where  all  resources  are  wanting,  you  may  have  the 
goodness  to  consider  this  petition  at  your  earliest  convenience,  which 
grace  I  doubt  not  to  obtain  from  the  illustrious  Chief  Magistrate  of  the 
Nation  to  whom  I  have  the  honor  of  subscribing  myself. 


LE  PLONGEON,  M.  D. 
MERIDA,  January  27,  1876. 

NOTE.    The  references  to  plates  in  this  paper  do  not  agree  with  the  numbers 
on  the  helioscopic  illustrations. 

Before  leaving  Chiehen-Itza,  at  about  the  date  of  the  above 
Memorial,  the  statue,  as  has  been  already  stated,  was  con- 
cealed in  the  forest  near  the  town  of  Piste,  carefully  pro- 
tected from  the  weather  by  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Le  Plongeon,  and 
an  answer  from  the  Mexican  Government  was  eagerly 
awaited.  After  long  delay,  a  simple  refusal  to  allow  the 
statue  to  be  exported  was  the  only  reply.  Dr.  Le  Plongeon 
then  prepared  his  photographs  and  a  small  collection  of 
relics  for  shipment  to  the  United  States,  to  be  offered  at  the 
Centennial  Exhibition  of  18T6.  These  interesting  offerings 


74 

were  accompanied  by  a  letter  to  the  President  of  the  Cen- 
tennial Commission,  recounting  the  great  disappointment  of 
not  being  able  to  send  the  statue,  but  entreating  a  careful 
consideration  of  the  pictures.  The  letter  was  dated  Mcri  a, 
August  30, 1 876.  By  unfortunate  delays  and  misunderstand- 
ings, the  articles  above  mentioned  never  reached  their  des- 
tination, and  in  March  of  the  present  year  were  purchased 
by  the  writer. 

The  relics  are  interesting  specimens  of  pottery  and  of  the 
ornaments  or  weapons  that  were  found  with  the  statue,  whose 
excavation  has  been  described  by  the  discoverer  himself. 
The  Jade  Points  and  Flints  are  very  carefully  wrought,  and 
suggest  rather  the  idea  of  selection  as  symbols  than  of  ordi- 
nary warlike  implements.  A.  portion  or  all  of  the  articles 
mentioned,  together  with  ashes,  were  found  in  a  stone  urn, 
and  are  shown  on  the  opposite  page.* 

Merida,  the  capital  of  the  State  of  Yucatan,  has  an  insti- 

DESCRIPTION     OF    PLATE. 


A  picture  of  the  relics  found  by  Dr.  Le  Plongeon  with  the  statue  which  he 
exhumed  at  Chichen-Itza.  They  were  intended  for  exhibition  at  Philadelphia, 
together  with  the  photographs  which  have  been  mentioned,  but  failed  in 
reaching  their  destination.  It  is  not  supposed  that  the  above  were  the  only  or 
the  most  valuable  of  the  curiosities  found  in  connection  with  the  statue. 

The  three  pieces  of  pottery  bear  the  original  labels,  "From  the  Mausoleum 
of  the  chieftain  Chaac-mol  (tiger,)  Chichen-Itza.  At  least  5000  years  old. 
Augustus  Le  Plongeon,  M.  D."  They  were  found  near  the  head  of  the  statue. 
The  dish  on  the  left  stands  on  three  short  legs,  perforated  so  that  an  object 
might  be  suspended  from  it,  and. the  larger  dish  has  similar  legs,  without 
perforation.  The  bowl  at  the  right  is  decorated  with  tracings  and  other  embel- 
lishments. 

Below  are  axes  nnd  flint  spears  from  the  Island  of  Cozumel.  Next  follow 
fossil  shells,  collected  by  Mrs.  Alice  Le  Plongeon  from  an  excavation  at 
Chichen-Itza,  which  may  be  useful  in  a  scientific  point  of  view. 

The  Jade  Points  are  beautiful  specimens,  and  may  have  been  used  for  cere- 
monial purposes.  The  arrow-heads  are  of  flint,  very  carefully  finished,  and 
have  minute  grooves  at  the  base.  These  also  apparently  were  not  intended  for 
practical  uses.  A  portion,  or  all  of  the  above  articles,  except  the  Cozumel 
flints,  were  enclosed  in  the  stone  urn  spoken  of  by  Dr.  Le  Plongeon  in 
his  Mexican  Memorial. 

*  See  Relacion  de  las  Cosas  de  Yucatan,  de  Diego  de  Landa.  By 
L'Abbe  Brasseur  de  Bourbourg.  Paris,  1864,  page  327. 


Heliotypc  Printing  Company. 


Relics  found  in  the  excavation  with  the  Statue  exhumed  by  Dr.  Augustus 

LePlongeon  at  Chichen-Itza,  Yucatan,  together  with  specimens 

of  axes  and  spear  heads  from  CozumeL 


75 

tutiori  called  El  Museo  Yucateco,  founded  in  1871,  under 
the  direction  of  Sr.  Dn.  Crecencio  Carillo  Ancona.  and  it  is 
now  managed  by  Sr.  Dn.  Juan  Peon  Contreras.  In  its  col- 
lections are  pieces  of  antique  sculpture  in  stone,  plaster  casts 
and  pottery  taken  from  ancient  graves,  manuscripts  in  the 
.Maya  language  and  in  the  Spanish,  rare  imprints  and  works 
relating  to  the  peninsula.  These,  together  with  objects  of 
natural  history  and  samples  of  the  various  woods  of  the 
country,  and  a  cabinet  of  curiosities,  form  a  museum  that 
promises  to  create  and  encourage  a  love  of  antiquarian 
research  among  the  people,  a  labor  which  lias  been  the  prov- 
ince of  the  Museo  Nacional  in  the  city  of  Mexico.  But  it  does 
not  appear  that  explorations  have  as  yet  been  attempted. 
The  connection  which  this  institution  has  with  the  statue 
discovered  by  Dr.  Le  Plongeon  arises  from  the  fact  that 
in  February,  1877,  a  commission  was  despatched  to  the  neigh- 
borhood of  the  town  of  Piste  by  the  Governor  of  Yucatan, 
under  the  orders  of  Sr.  Dn.  Juan  Peon  Contreras, 
Director  of  the  Museo  Yucateco,  and  after  an  absence 
of  a  month,  returned,  bringing  the  statue  concealed  there 
by  Dr.  Le  Plongeon,  in  triumph  to  Merida.  The  commis- 
sion was  accompanied  by  a  military  force  for  protection,  and 
the  progress  of  the  returning  expedition  was  the  occasion  of  a 
grand  reception  in  the  town  of  Izamal,  where  poems  and 
addresses  were  made,  which  are  preserved  in  a  pamphlet  of 
27  pages.  An  account  of  its  arrival  at  Merida,  on  March  1, 
is  given  in  the  Periodico  Oficial  of  the  day  following.  The 
entrance  of  the  statue  was  greeted  by  a  procession  composed 
of  officials,  societies,  and  children  of  the  public  schools. 
The  streets  were  filled  with  spectators,  and  addresses  were 
made  and  poems  were  recited.  The  following  is  a  quotation 
from  this  article  : — 

;'  The  Statue  of  Chac-Mool  measures  a  little  more  than  9  feet 
in  length.  Its  beautiful  head  is  turned  to  one  side  in  a  menacing 
attitude,  and  it  has  a  face  of  ferocious  appearance.  It  is  cut  from 
a  stone  almost  as  hard  as  granite.  Seated  upon  a  pedestal,  with 
its  arms  crossed  upon  the  abdomen,  it  appears  as  if  about  to  raise 


76 

itself  in  order  to  execute  a  cruel  and  bloody  threat.  This  precious 
object  of  antiquity  is  worthy  of  the  study  of  thoughtful  men. 
History  and  archaeology  in  their  grave  and  profound  investigations 
will  certainly  discover  some  day  the  secret  which  surrounds  all 
the  precious  monuments  which  occupy  the  expanse  of  our  rich 
soil,  an  evident  proof  of  the  ancient  civilization  of  the  Mayas, 
now  attracting  the  attention  of  the  Old  World.  The  entrance 
of  the  Statue  of  Chac-Mool  into  the  Capital  will  form  an  epoch 
in  the  annals  of  Yucatan  history,  and  its  remembrance  will  be 
accompanied  by  that  of  the  worthy  Governor  under  whose 
administration  our  Museum  has  been  enriched  with  so  invaluable 
a  gift." 

The  reception,  judging  from  the  article  in  the  journal 
above  quoted,  must  have  been  imposing.  It  was  the  inten- 
tion of  the  authorities  to  place  the  statue  in  the  Yucatan 
Museum,  but  this  purpose  was  defeated  by  its  removal  to 
Mexico,  by  a  government  steamer,  in  the  month  of  April,  to 
enrich  the  National  Museum  of  that  city. 

All  the  above  proceedings  took  place  without  the  consent, 
and  contrary  to  the  wishes,  of  Dr.  Le  Plongeon,  who  at  that 
time  was  absent  from  Merida,  in  the  Island  of  Cozumel,  and 
was  therefore  unable  to  offer  opposition. 

In  order  to  furnish  further  testimony  to  the  high  estima- 
tion in  which  the  statue  of  Chac-Mool  is  held  in  Yucatan, 
the  following  notice,  offered  to  the  writer  for  publication, 
by  Sr.  Dn.  Juan  Peon  Contreras,  director  of  the  museum 
referred  to  above,  and  which  afterward  appeared  in  El 
Pensamiento,  of  Merida,  of  date  Aug.  12,  is  inserted 
entire : — 

OFFICIAL  STATEMENT  OF  THE  DIRECTOR  OF  THE  MUSEO  YUCATECO. 

To  Sr.  D.  AUGUSTIN  DEL  RIO, 

Provisional  Governor  of  the  State  of  Yucatan. 

A  short  historical  notice  of  the  stone  image  "Chac-Mool,"  discov- 
ered in  the  celebrated  ruius  of  Chichen-Itza,  by  the  learned  Archaeolo- 
gist, Mr.  Le  Plongeon,  to  be  preserved  in  the  National  Museum  of 
Mexico,  for  which  place  it  is  destined. 

MERIDA,  1877. 

There  exist,  in  the  deserts  of  Yucatan,  at  about  36  leagues— 108  miles 


77 

— from  Merida,  some  very  notable  monumental  ruins,  known  by  the  name 
of  Chichen-Itza,  whose  origin  is  lost  in  the  night  of  time.  Their  situ- 
ation, in  the  hostile  section  of  revolutionary  Indians  (Sublivados),  caused 
them  to  be  very  little  visited  until,  to  the  general  astonishment,  an 
American  traveller,  the  wise  archaeologist  and  Doctor,  Mr.  Augustus  Le 
Plongeon,  in  company  with  his  young  and  most  intelligent  wife,  fixed 
his  residence  among  them  for  some  months  towards  the  end  of  1874. 
They  both  gave  themselves  up  with  eagerness  to  making  excellent  pho- 
tographic views  of  what  was  there  worthy  of  notice,  to  be  sent  to  the 
ministry  of  protection,  the  depository  which  the  law  provides  in  order 
to  obtain  the  rights  of  ownership.  They  did  not  limit  themselves  to 
this  work.  The  illustrious  Doctor  and  his  wife,  worthy  of  admiration  on 
many  accounts,  supported  with  patient  heroism  the  sufferings  and  risks 
of  that  very  forlorn  neighborhood,  and  passed  their  days  in  producing 
exact  plans,  and  transferring  to  paper  the  wall  paintings  that  are  still 
preserved  upon  some  of  the  edifices,  such  as  Akabsib — (dark  writings). 

There  came  a  day  on  which  one,  endowed  like  the  visitor,  had  by 
abstruse  archaeological  reasoning,  and  by  his  meditation,  determined 
the  place,  and,  striking  the  spot  with  his  foot,  he  said,  "Here  it  is,  here 
it  will  be  found."  The  language  of  this  man — better  said,  of  this  genius 
— will  appear  exaggerated.  It  can  be  decided  when  he  has  succeeded 
in  bringing  to  light  the  interesting  work  which  he  is  writing  about  his 
scientific  investigations  in  the  ruins  of  Yucatan.  Let  us  finish  this 
short  preamble,  and  occupy  ourselves  with  the  excavation  of  the  statue. 

Chac-Mool  is  a  Maya  word  which  means  tiger.  So  the  discoverer 
desired  to  name  it,  who  reserved  to  himself  the  reasons  for  which  he 
gave  it  this  name.  He  discovered  a  stone  base,  oblong,  somewhat  im- 
perfect, that  measured  9  Spanish  inches  in  thickness,  by  5  feet  3£ 
inches  in  length,  and  2  feet  10  inches  in  width.  Above  it  reposed  in  a 
single  piece  of  stone  the  colossal  image  whose  weight  amounted  to 
about  3,500  Ibs.  Its  imposing  and  majestic  attitude,  and  the  insignia 
which  adorned  it,  leads  to  the  supposition  that  it  was  some  notable 
leader  of  the  time,  a  king,  or  perhaps  a  noble  of  those  regions.  Such 
deductions  were  hazarded  as  suppositions.  The  discoverer  supposed 
it  buried  by  its  kindred  and  subjects  more  than  12,000  years  ago.  The 
reasons  shall  I  attempt  to  give?  It  was  reached  at  8  meters  in  depth, 
not  far  from  the  manorial  castle  of  Chichen,  to  which  the  approach  is  by 
a  staircase  of  90  steps,  which  are  visible  from  the  four  cardinal  points. 
According  to  the  above  discoverer  there  existed  a  kind  of  mausoleum 
or  monument — erected  to  the  memory  of  the  ruler,  Chac-Mool,  by  the 
queen,  his  wife — until  it  was  destroyed  at  the  time  of  the  invasion  of 
Chichen-Itza  by  the  Nahuas  or  Toltecs,  at  the  end  of  the  second  century 
of  the  Christian  era.  Even  now  is  preserved  at  a  short  distance  from 
the  place  where  was  exhumed  the  statue  of  Chac-Mool,  a  statue  of  stone 
representing  a  tiger,  also  above  a  quadrilateral  base,  which  once  had  a 

11 


78 

human  head,  and  which  it  is  presumed  surmounted  the  monument 
before  the  time  of  its  destruction. 

Employing  a  protection  of  limbs  and  trunks  of  trees,  and  providing 
a  capstan  with  ropes  made  from  the  bark  of  the  grapevine,  by  force  of 
perseverance  the  learned  LePlongeon  was  able  to  land  upon  the  surface 
of  the  soil  the  most  noteworthy  archaeological  treasure  which  has  been 
discovered  to  this  day  in  Yucatan. 

Ignorant  of  the  laws  of  the  country,  this  American  traveller  thought 
that  h<-  might  at  once  call  himself  the  proprietor  of  the  statue,  and  suc- 
ceeded in  bringing  it,  in  15  days,  as  far  as  the  uninhabited  town  of 
Piste1,  two  miles  from  the  ruins,  upon  a  wagon  constructed  for  the  pur- 
pose, hiding  it  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  above  town,  while  he  informed 
himself  about  his  supposed  rights.  The  indefatigable  traveller  came  to 
MSrida,  where,  in  the  meantime  the  Government  of  the  State  asserted 
that  the  statue  was  the  general  property  of  the  nation  and  not  that  of 
the  discoverer. 

Leaving  for  a  better  opportunity  the  questions  relative  to  it,  Dr. 
Lr  Piongeon  occupied  himself  in  visiting  other  ruins,  busying  himself 
between  ;h  Island  of  <  'ozumel  and  that  of  Mugeres,  until  peace  should 
be  established  in  the  State,  and  the  Sr.  General  Guerra  should  be  nomi- 
nated Provisional  Governor. 

At  the  suggestion  of  the  subscriber  the  Governor  allowed  the  trans- 
portation of  this  statue  to  the  Museo  Yucateco,  and  the  Director  of  the 
Museo,  in  compliance  with  his  duty,  counting  upon  the  assistance  of  an 
armed  force  necessary  for  an  expedition  of  such  a  dangerous  character, 
left  this  capital  February  1,  1877,  to  the  end  of  securing  the  preservation 
of  an  object  so  important  to  the  ancient  history  of  the  country.  Over- 
coming the  thousand  difficulties  that  presented  themselves  in  opening  a 
road  of  6  leagues  that  was  known  to  the  birds  alone,  over  a  surface 
covered  with  mounds  and  inequalities,  he  constructed  a  new  wagon  on 
which  the  colossal  statue  was  dragged  along  by  more  than  150  Indians, 
in  turn,  who,  in  their  fanatical  superstition,  asserted  that,  during  the  late 
hours  of  the  night  there  came  from  the  mouth  of  the  figure  the  words 
"Conex!  Conex!"  which  signifies  in  their  language,  "Let  us  go!  Let 
us  go !" 

Upon  the  26th  of  the  same  month  and  year,  the  historical  and  monu- 
mental city  of  Izamal  received  with  enthusiastic  demonstrations  the 
statue  of  the  king  Chac-Mool.  Brilliant  compositions  referring  to  it 
were  read,  which,  in  a  printed  form,  will  accompany  it  for  the  archives 
of  the  Museo  National.  When  it  arrived  at  Merida  it  had  a  no  less 
lively  reception  on  the  morning  of  the  1st  of  March,  1877. 

A  little  later  it  was  received  into  the  Museo  Yucateco  upon  the  same 
rustic  wagon  on  which  it  had  traversed  the  6  leagues  of  almost  inacces- 
sible country  from  Piste  to  Oitas,  from  where  begins  the  broad  road. 


79 

It  was  intended  to  surround  it  with  a  wooden  fence  upon  which  should 
be  engraved  this  inscription  in  golden  letters  : — 

"CHAOMOOL 

The  discovery  of  the  Wise  archaeologist.  Mr.  Le  Plongeon,  in  the  ruins 
of  Chicheu-Itza. 

General  Protasio  Guerra  being  Governor  of  the  State  of  Yucatan.    It 

was  brought  to  the  Museo  Yucateco  on  the  1st  of  March,  1877, 

by  Juan  Pdon  Contruras,  Director  of  the  Museum." 

Still  later,  at  the  decision  of  the  Governor  of  the  State,  Sr.  D. 
Augustin  del  Rio,  its  transfer  to  the  National  Museum  of  Mexico  was 
permitted,  where  so  notable  an  archaeological  monument  will  show  to 
better  advantage,  leaving  in  its  place  a  copy  in  plaster,  made  by  a 
skilful  Yucatan  artist. 

The  Director  of  the  Museo  Yucateco, 

JUAN  PEON  CONTRERAS. 
MERIDA,  1877. 


NOTE.  The  unexpected  arrival  and  early  return  to  Vera  Cruz  of  the 
national  war  steamer  Libertad,  which  conducted  the  recovered  statue 
to  the  Department  of  State,  gave  no  time  in  which  a  copy  of  it  could  be 
taken  in  this  capital,  the  Government  of  the  State  reserving  the  right  to 
ask  of  the  President  of  the  Republic,  who  resides  in  Mexico,  to  send 
such  a  copy  to  the  Museo  Yucateco,  as  a  just  compensation. 

PEON  CONTRERAS. 

April  6,  1877. 


After  the  defeat  of  Dr.  Le  Plongeon's  cherished  hopes  of 
exhibiting  his  statue  at  Philadelphia,  this  traveller  passed  his 
time  in  investigations  among  the  islands  of  the  east  coast 
of  the  Peninsula,  particularly  those  of  Mugeres  and  Cozu- 
mel.  His  observations  there — as  well  as  much  additional 
information  regarding  the  architecture  of  Chichen-Itza  and 
Uxmal,  and  his  deductions  therefrom — are  contained  in  a 
communication  to  the  Minister  of  the  United  States  at 
Mexico,  and  are  here  given  in  abstract,  as  throwing  light 
upon  the  discoveries  that  have  been  made,  and  the  infer- 
ences which  have  been  drawn  from  them. 

This  appeal  contains  a  statement  of  the  wrongs  suffered 
by  Dr.  Le  Plongeon  in  being  prevented  from  removing  his 


80 

statue  and  other  discoveries  from  the  country ;  and  also  a 
demand  for  redress  and  compensation,  as  an  American  citi- 
zen, for  the  seizure  and  appropriation,  in  the  first  instance 
by  the  government  of  Yucatan,  and  afterwards  by  the 
supreme  government  at  Mexico,  of  the  work  of  art  which 
he  had  brought  to  light.  This  statement,  with  the  corres- 
pondence which  accompanies  it,  is  intended  also  to  be  offered 
to  the  consideration  of  the  President  of  the  United  States 
for  such  action  as  may  be  considered  proper  in  the  premises. 
The  extracts  made  are  those  only  which  relate  to 
the  investigations  of  Dr.  Le  Plongeon  in  the  course  of 
his  travels  ;  for  although  great  sympathy  is  due  him  for 
his  misfortunes  and  disappointments,  a  legal  statement  of 
his  wrongs  cannot  be  discussed  in  this  paper. 

EXTRACTS  FROM  A  COMMUNICATION  OF  DR.  LE  PLONGEON  TO  THE  HONOR- 
ABLE  JOHN  W.  FOSTER,  MINISTER  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES  AT 
MEXICO,  DATED  ISLAND  OF  COZUMEL,  MAY  1,  1877. 

Chichen-Itza  is  situated  in  the  territories  occupied  by  subjects  of 
Don  Crecencio  Foot,  Chief  of  Chan-Santa-Cruz.  In  1847,  this  chief  and 
others  refused  to  acknowledge  any  longer  their  allegiance  to  the  Mexi- 
can Government,  and  seceded,  declaring  war  to  the  knife  to  the  white 
inhabitants  of  Yucatan.  Since  that  time  they  have  conquered  a  portion 
of  that  State,  and  hold  peaceful  possession  of  the  best  towns.  They 
have  destroyed  the  principal  cities  of  the  east  and  south.  These  are 
now  reduced  to  mere  villages  with  few  inhabitants.  The  churches  in 
ruins,  mostly  converted  into  fortresses,  the  houses  abandoned  by  their 
dwellers,  invaded  by  rank  vegetation,  a  refuge  for  bats,  owls,  and  other 
prowling  animals,  are  crumbling  to  the  ground  every  day  more  and 
more,  no  one  daring  to  make  repairs,  lest  the  Indians  should  burn 
and  destroy  them  again.  For  leagues  around  the  country  is  deserted. 
Only  a  few  venturesome  spirits  have  plucked  up  heart  to  establish  farms 
where  the  soil  is  the  richest.  They  cultivate  them  with  armed  servants, 
so  great  is  their  dread  of  their  fierce  enemies. 

Three  miles  from  Piste,  one  of  the  most  advanced  posts  on  the  eastern 
frontier,  and  beyond  the  military  lines,  stand  the  ruins  of  Chichen  Itza. 
There  lay  buried,  since  probably  5000  years,  that  superb  statue, 
together  with  other  most  precious  relics,  at  eight  meters  under  ground, 
amidst  thick  forests,  unknown  to  the  whole  world,  not  only  to  the  mod- 
ern, but  also  to  the  comparatively  ancient,  for  it  has  escaped  destruction 
from  the  hands  of  the  natives.  A  people,  starting  from  the  vicinity 


81 

of  Palenque,  invaded  all  the  regions  west  and  south  of  what,  in  our 
days,  is  called  the  Yucatan  Peninsula,  arriving  at  Bacalar.  From  that 
place,  following  the  coast,  they  ravaged  the  eastern  part  of  the  country, 
and  at  or  about  the  beginning  of  the  Christian  era  laid  siege  to  the 
cities  of  the  holy  and  wise  men  (Itzaes),  the  seat  of  a  very  advanced  civil- 
ization, where  arts,  sciences  and  religion  flourished.  After  a  weary 
and  protracted  defence,  and  many  hard-fought  battles,  the  beautiful 
capital  fell  at  last  into  the  power  of  the  invaders.  There,  in  the  impulse 
of  their  ignorance,  in  the  heat  of  their  wrath,  they  destroyed  many 
objects  of  art.  They  vented  their  rage  most  particularly  on  the  effigies 
and  portraits  of  the  ancient  kings  and  rulers  of  the  vanquished,  when 
and  where  they  could  find  them,  decapitating  most  and  breaking  a  great 
many  of  the  beautiful  statues  wrought  by  their  subjects  in  their  honor, 
as  mementoes  by  which  they  remembered  and  venerated  their  memories. 
Chaacmol,  whose  hiding  place  theyjgnored,  as  they  did  that  of  his  elder 
brother,  Huuncay,  whose  statue  is  still  where  his  friends  deposited  it, 
12  meters  under  the  surface  of  the  ground,  escaped  the  fury  of  the  en- 
raged iconoclasts.  Not  so,  however,  the  effigies  and  emblems  that 
adorned  and  surmounted  the  monuments  raised  to  perpetuate  the  remem- 
brance of  their  most  beneficent  government,  and  the  love  they  professed 
for  their  people.  Even  these  monuments  themselves  were  afterwards 
disgraced,  being  used  as  places  for  histrionic  performances. 

The  places  of  concealment  of  these  and  other  most  precious  relics, 
amongst  them  probably  the  libraries  of  the  H-Menes  or  learned  and  wise 
men,  yet  to  be  excavated,  were  revealed  to  my  wife  and  myself  on  de- 
ciphering some  hieroglyphics,  mural  paintings  and  bas-reliefs. 

On  the  5th  of  January,  1876,  I  conducted  the  statue  of  Chaacmol  on 
the  road  to  Oitas,  and  at  about  a  quarter  of  a  mile  from  PistS,  that  is  to 
say,  far  enough  to  put  it  out  of  the  reach  of  mischief  from  the  soldiers 
of  the  post,  I  placed  it  in  a  thicket  about  50  yards  from  the  road. 
There,  with  the  help  of  Mrs.  Le  Plongeon,  I  wrapped  it  in  oil-cloth,  and 
carefully  built  over  it  a  thatched  roof,  in  order  to  protect  it  from  the  in- 
clemencies of  the  atmosphere.  Leaving  it  surrounded  by  a  brush  fence, 
we  carefully  closed  the  boughs  on  the  passage  that  led  from  the  road  to 
the  place  of  concealment,  so  that  a  casual  traveller,  ignorant  of  the 
existence  of  such  an  object,  would  not  even  suspect  it.  Many  a  clay  our 
only  meal  has  consisted  of  a  hard  Indian  cake  and  a  bit  of  garlic  and 
water. 

The  queen  of  Itza  is  represented  under  the  effigy  of  an  ara,  eating  a 
human  neart,  on  several  bas-reliefs  that  adorned  the  monuments  she 
raised  to  the  beloved  of  her  own  heart,  Chaacmol.  The  scene  of  his  death 
is  impressively  portrayed  on  the  walls  which  the  queen  caused  to  be 
raised  to  the  memory  of  her  husband,  in  the  two  exquisite  rooms,  the 
ruins  of  which  are  yet  to  be  seen  upon  the  south  end  of  the  east  wall  of 
the  gymnasium.  Those  rooms  were  a  shrine  indeed,  but  a  shrine  where 
the  conjugal  love  of  the  queen  alone  worshipped  the  memory  of  her 


82 

departed  lover.  She  adorned  the  outer  walls  with  his  effigies,  his  totem- 
tiger,  and  his  shield  and  coat  of  arms  between  tiger  and  tiger.  Whilst 
on  an  admirably  polished  stucco  that  covers  the  stones  in  the  interior 
of  the  rooms  she  had  his  deeds,  his  and  her  own  life  in  fact,  with  the 
customs  of  the  time,  painted  in  beautiful  life-like  designs,  superbly 
drawn  and  sweetly  colored.  The  history  of  the  twin  brothers  is  there 
faithfully  portrayed.  There  is  also  a  life-like  likeness,  painted  in  bril- 
liant colors,  of  Chaacmol.  Unhappily  such  precious  works  of  art  have 
been  much  defaced,  more  than  by  time,  by  the  impious  hands  of  ignorant 
and  vain  fools,  who  have  thought  their  names  of  greater  interest  to  the 
world  than  the  most  remarkable  drawings  on  which  they  have  inscribed 
them. 

Chaacmol  is  there  represented  full  of  wrath,  the  hand  clinched  in  an 
altercation  with  his  younger  brother,  Aac.  This  latter,  after  cowardly 
murdering  the  friend  of  his  infancy  with  thrusts  of  his  lance — one  under 
his  right  shoulder  blade,  another  in  his  left  lung,  near  the  region  of  the 
heart,  and  the  third  in  the  lumbar  region— fled  to  Uxmal  in  order  to 
escape  the  vengeance  of  the  queen,  who  cherished  their  young  chieftain 
who  had  led  them  so  many  times  to  victory.  At  their  head  he  had  con- 
quered all  the  surrounding  nations.  Their  kings  and  rulers  had 
come  from  afar  to  lay  their  sceptres  and  their  hearts  at  the  feet  of  their 
pretty  and  charming  queen.  Even  white  and  long  bearded  men  had 
made  her  presents  and  offered  her  their  tributes  and  homage.  He  had 
raised  the  fame  of  their  beautiful  capital  far  above  that  of  any  other 
cities  in  Mayapan  and  Xibalba.  He  had  opened  the  country  to  the  com- 
merce of  the  whole  world,  and  merchants  of  Asia  and  Africa  would 
bring  their  wares  and  receive  in  exchange  the  produce  of  their  factories 
and  of  their  lands.  In  a  word,  he  had  made  Chichen  a  great  metropolis 
in  whose  temples  pilgrims  from  all  parts  came  to  worship  and  even 
offer  their  own  persons  as  a  sacrifice  to  the  Almighty.  There  also  came 
the  wise  men  of  the  world  to  consult  the  H-Menes,  whose  convent, 
together  with  their  astronomical  observatory,  may  be  seen  at  a  short 
distance  from  the  government  palace  and  museum.  This  curious  story, 
yet  unknown  to  the  world,  was  revealed  to  my  wife  and  myself,  as 
the  work  of  restoring  the  paintings  advanced  step  by  step,  and  also  from 
the  careful  study  of  the  bas-reliefs  which  adorn  the  room  at  the  base 
of  the  monument.  You  can  see  photographs  of  these  bas-reliefs  in 
the  album  I  forwarded  to  the  Ministry  of  Public  Instruction.  We 
have  also  in  our  possession  the  whole  collection  of  tracings  of  the 
paintings  in  the  funeral  chamber. 

Motul  is  a  pretty  town  of  4000  inhabitants,  situated  about  10  leagues 
from  Merida.  Having  never  suffered  from  the  Indians  it  presents  quite  a 
thriving  appearance.  Its  productions  consist  principally  in  the  making 
henequen  bags  and  the  raising  of  cattle.  At  the  time  of  the  Spanish 
conquest  it  was  the  site  of  an  important  settlement,  if  we  may  judge 
from  the  number  of  mounds  and  other  edifices  scattered  in  its  vicinity. 


83 

All  are  in  a  very  ruinous  condition,  having  been  demolished  to  obtain 
materials  for  the  buildings  of  the  modern  village  and  the  construction 
of  fences.  It  was  among  these  ruins  that,  for  the  first  time  in  Yucatan, 
I  gazed  upon  the  incontestable  proofs  that  the  worship  of  the  phallus 
had  once  been  in  vogue  among  some  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  Penin- 
sula. I  discovered  emblems  of  that  worship,  so  common  with  the  natives 
of  Hindostau  and  Egypt  and  other  parts  of  the  world,  on  the  Eastern  side 
of  a  very  ruinous  pyramid,  raised  on  a  plot  of  ground,  in  the  outskirts 
of  this  village.  Since  then,  I  have  often  met  with  these  emblems  of  the 
religious  rites  of  the  Nahuas  and  Caras,  and  whilst  as  at  Uxmal,  they 
stare  at  the  traveller  from  every  ornament  of  the  buildings  and  are 
to  be  found  in  every  court- yard  and  public  place,  it  is  a  remarkable 
fact  that  they  are  to  be  met  with  nowhere  in  the  edifices  of  Chichen- 
Itza. 

There  can  be  no  possible  doubt  that  different  races  or  rather  nations 
practicing  distinct  religious  rites  inhabited  the  country  at  different 
epochs  and  destroyed  each  other  by  war.  So  at  the  time  of  the  arrival 
of  the  Spaniards  the  monuments  of  Chichen-Itza  were  in  ruins  and 
were  looked  upon  with  awe,  wonder  and  respect,  by  the  inhabitants  of 
the  country,  when  the  city  of  Uxmal  was  thickly  peopled.  There  cannot 
be  any  reasonable  doubt  that  the  Nahuas,  the  invaders  and  destroyers  of 
the  Itza  metropolis,  introduced  the  phallic  worship  into  Yucatan.  The 
monuments  of  Uxmal  do  not  date  from  so  remote  an  antiquity  as  those 
of  Chichen,  notwithstanding  that  Uxmal  was  a  large  city  when  Chichen 
was  at  the  height  of  its  glory.  Some  of  its  most  ancient  edifices  have 
been  enclosed  with  new  walls  and  ornamentation  to  suit  the  taste  and 
fancy  of  the  conquerors.  These  inner  edifices  belong  to  a  very  ancient 
period,  and  among  the  debris  I  have  found  the  head  of  a  bear  exquisitely 
sculptured  out  of  a  block  of  marble.  It  is  in  an  unfinished  state. 
When  did  bears  inhabit  the  peninsula  ?  Strange  to  say,  the  Maya  does 
not  furnish  the  name  for  the  bear.  Yet  one-third  of  this  tongue  is  pure 
Greek.  Who  brought  the  dialect  of  Homer  to  America  ?  Or  who  took 
to  Greece  that  of  the  Mayas  ?  Greek  is  the  offspring  of  Sanscrit.  Is 
Maya?  or  are  they  coeval?  A  clue  for  ethnologists  to  follow  the  migra- 
tions of  the  human  family  on  this  old  continent.  Did  the  bearded  men 
whose  portraits  are  carved  on  the  massive  pillars  of  the  fortress  at 
Chichen-Itza,  belong  to  the  Mayan  nations  ?  The  Maya  language  is 
not  devoid  of  words  from  the  Assyrian. 

We  made  up  our  minds  to  visit  Ake,  the  place  where  the  Spaniards 
escaping  from  Chichen  took  refuge  in  the  first  days  of  the  conquest. 
The  laud  where  tfcese  ruins  stand  forms  a  part  of  the  hacienda  of  Ake. 
It  belongs  to  Don  Bernardo  Peon,  one  of  the  wealthiest  men  of  the 
country,  but  on  account  of  the  insalubrity  of  the  climate  it  is  to-day 
well  nigh  abandoned.  Only  a  few  Indian  servants,  living  in  a  constant 
dread  of  the  paludean  fevers  that  decimate  their  families,  remained  to  take 
care  of  the  scanty  herds  of  cattle  and  horses  which  form  now  the  whole 


84 

wealth  of  the  farm.  In  the  first  days  of  March  we  arrived  at  the  gate 
of  the  farm-house.  The  Majordomo  had  received  orders  to  put  himself 
and  his  men  at' our  disposal.  The  ruined  farm-house  lies  at  the  foot  of  a 
cyclopean  structure.  From  the  veranda,  rising  majestically  in  bold 
relief  against  the  sky,  is  to  be  seen  the  most  interesting  and  best  pre- 
served monument  of  Ak6,  composed  of  three  platforms  superposed. 
They  terminate  in  an  immense  esplanade  crowned  by  three  rows  of  12 
columns  each.  These  columns,  formed  of  huge  square  stones  roughly 
hewn,  and  piled  one  above  the  other  to  a  height  of  4  meters,  are  the 
Katuns  that  served  to  record  certain  epochs  in  the  history  of  the  nation, 
and  indicate  in  this  case  an  antiquity  of  at  least  57GO  years.  The  monu- 
ments of  Ake  are  peculiar,  and  the  only  specimens  of  their  kind  to  be 
found  among  these  ruined  cities.  They  are  evidently  the  handiwork  of 
a  herculean  and  uncouth  race — the  enormous  height  of  each  step  in 
the  staircase  proves  it— of  that  race  of  giants  whose  great  bones  and 
large  skulls  are  now  and  then  disinterred,  and  whose  towering  forms, 
surmounted  by  heads  disproportionately  small,  we  have  seen  pictured 
on  the  walls  of  Chichen-Itza.  They  recalled  forcibly  to  our  minds  the 
antique  Gruanc.hes,  the  ancient  inhabitants  of  the  Canary  Islands,  whose 
gigantic  mummies  are  yet  found  in  the  sepulchral  caverns  of  Teneriffe, 
and  whose  peculiar  sandals  with  red  straps  so  closely  resemble  those 
seen  on  the  feet  of  Chaacmol.  The  edifices  of  Ake  are  composed  of 
large  blocks  of  stone,  generally  square,  often  oblong  in  shape,  super- 
posed, and  held  together  merely  by  their  enormous  weight,  without  the 
aid  of  mortar  or  cement  of  any  sort.  We  did  not  tarry  in  this  strange 
city  more  than  eight  days.  The  malaria  of  the  place  very  seriously 
affected  the  health  of  my  wife,  and  obliged  us  to  hasten  back  to  Tixko- 
kob.  We  brought  with  us  the  photograph  views,  and  plans  of  the  prin- 
cipal buildings,  regretting  not  to  perfect  our  work  by  a  complete  survey 
of  the  whole  of  them,  scattered  as  they  are  over  a  large  extent  of 
ground. 

Our  investigations  in  Uxmal  revealed  to  our  minds  some  interesting 
facts  in  the  lives  of  the  three  brothers  of  the  tradition.  In  Chichen  we 
discovered  the  place  of  concealment  of  the  two  brothers  Huuncay  and 
Chaacmol.  That  of  the  third  brother,  Aac,  was  not  to  be  found.  Yet  I 
was  certain  it  must  exist  somewhere.  Many  persons  who  are  not 
acquainted  with  the  customs  and  religious  beliefs  of  those  ancient  peo- 
ple have  questioned  me  on  the  strange  idea  of  burying  such  beautiful 
objects  of  art  at  so  great  a  depth,  yet  the  reason  is  very  simple.  The 
nations  that  inhabited  the  whole  of  Central  America — the  Mayas,  the 
Nahuas,  the  Caras  or  Carians— had,  with  the  Siamese  even  of  to-day,  and 
the  Egyptians  of  old,  many  notions  in  common  concerning  the  immor- 
tality of  the  soul,  and  its  existence  after  its  earthly  mission  was  accom- 
plished. They  believed  that  the  sentient  and  intelligent  principle,  pixan, 
which  inhabits  the  body,  survived  the  death  of  that  body,  and  was 
bound  to  return  to  earth,  and  live  other  and  many  mundane  existences; 


85 

but  that  between  each  separate  existence  that  pixan  went  to  a  place  of 
delight,  Caan,  where  it  enjoyed  all  sorts  of  bliss  for  a  proportionate 
time,  and  as  a  reward  for  the  good  actions  it  had  done  while  on  earth. 
Passing  to  a  place  of  punishment,  Metnal,  it  suffered  all  kinds  of 
evils  during  also  a  certain  time  in  atonement  for  its  sins.  Then  it  was 
to  return  and  live  again  among  men.  But  as  the  material  body  was 
perishable,  they  made  effigies  in  perfect  resemblance  to  it.  These  were 
sometimes  of  wood,  sometimes  of  clay,  and  sometimes  of  stone,  accord- 
ing to  the  wealth  or  social  position  of  the  individual ;  and  after  burning 
the  body,  the  ashes  were  enclosed  in  the  statue  or  in  urns  that  they 
placed  near  by.  Around  and  beside  these  were  arranged  the  weapons 
and  the  ornaments  used  by  the  deceased,  if  a  warrior;  the  tools  of  his 
trade;  if  a  mechanic;  and  books,  if  a  priest  or  learned  man,  in  order  that 
they  should  find  them  at  hand  when  the  pixan  should  come  back  and 
animate  the  statue  or  image. 

To  return  to  our  investigations  at  Uxmal.  On  examining  the  orna- 
ments on  the  cornice  of  the  Eastern  front  of  the  monument  known  as 
"  The  House  of  the  Governor,  "  I  was  struck  with  their  similarity  to 
those  which  adorn  the  most  ancient  edifice  of  Chichen  and  whose  con- 
struction. I  judge,  dates  back  12,000  years.  But  what  most  particularly 
called  my  attention  were  the  hieroglyphics  that  surrounded  a  sitting 
figure  placed  over  the  main  entrance  in  the  centre  of  the  building. 
There  were  plainly  to  me  the  names  of  Huuncay  and  Chaacmol,  and  on 
both  sides  of  the  figure,  now  headless,  the  name  of  the  individual  it 
was  intended  to  represent,  Aac,  the  younger  brother  and  murderer. 
And  on  the  North-west  corner  of  the  second  terrace  was  his  private 
residence,  a  very  elegant  structure  of  a  most  simple  and  graceful  archi- 
tecture, ornamented  with  his  totem.  I  afterwards  found  a  pillar 
written  with  his  name  in  hieroglyphics  and  a  bust  of  marble  very  much 
defaced.  Around  the  neck  is  a  collar  or  necklace  sustaining  a  medallion 
with  his  name.  In  the  figure  that  adorns  the  fa9ade  of  the  palace  he  is 
represented  sitting,  and  under  his  feet  are  to  be  seen  the  bodies  of  three 
personages,  two  men  and  one  woman,  flayed.  Unhappily  these  also 
have  been  mutilated  by  the  hand  of  time  or  of  iconoclasts.  They  are 
headless,  but  I  entertain  no  doubt  as  to  whom  they  were  intended 
to  represent,  Huuncay,  Chaacmol  and  the  queen,  his  wife.  It  is 
worthy  of  notice  that  while  the  phallic  emblems  are  to  be  seen  in  great 
profusion  in  every  other  building  at  Uxmal,  there  is  not  a  single  trace 
of  them  in  or  on  the  "  House  of  the  Governor,"  or  its  appurtenances. 

Yucatan  being  in  a  state  of  political  effervescence,  we  determined  to 
visit  the  islands  of  Mugeres  and  Cozumel.  on  the  East  coast  of  Yucatan, 
taking  our  chance  of  falling  into  the  hands  of  the  Indians  and  being 
murdered. 

Accordingly,  on  the  20th  of  October,  1876,  we  embarked  on  board  the 
"  Viri,"  a  small  coasting  sloop,  and  with  the  mists  of  the  evening,  the 
houses  of  Progreso  faded  from  our  view  and  were  lost  in  the  haze  of 
12 


86 

the  horizon.  Contrary  winds  retarded  our  journey  and  obliged  us  to 
cast  anchor  near  shore  every  night.  It  was  not  until  after  ten  tiresome 
days  that  we,  at  last,  saw  the  dim  outline  of  Mugeres  island  rise  slowly 
over  the  waves.  As  we  drew  near,  the  tall  and  slender  forms  of  the 
cocoa  trees,  gracefully  waving  their  caps  of  green  foliage  with  the 
breeze,  while  their  roots  seemed  to  spring  from  the  blue  waters  of  the 
ocean,  indicated  the  spot  where  the  village  houses  lay  on  the  shore 
under  their  umbrage.  Seen  at  a  distance,  the  spot  presents  quite  a 
romantic  aspect.  The  island  is  a  mere  rock,  elevated  only  a  few  feet 
above  the  level  of  the  sea,  six  miles  long  and  about  one-half  a  mile  wide 
in  its  widest  parts.  In  some  places  it  is  scarcely  200  steps  across. 
The  population  consists  of  500  souls,  more  or  less.  Its  principal  indus- 
try is  fishing.  For  Indian  corn  and  beans — the  staple  articles  of  food 
throughout  Yucatan — they  depend  altogether  on  the  main  land ;  vege- 
tables of  any  kind  are  an  unknown  luxury,  notwithstanding  there  are 
some  patches  of  good  vegetable  land  in  the  central  part.  The  island 
possesses  a  beautiful  and  safe  harbor;  at  one  time  it  was  the  haven 
where  the  pirates  that  infested  the  West  Indian  seas  were  wont  to  seek 
rest  from  their  hazardous  calling.  Their  names  are  to  be  seen  to-day 
rudely  carved  on  the  sapote  beams  that  form  the  lintels  of  the 
doorways  of  the  antique  shrine  whose  ruins  crown  the  southernmost 
point  of  the  island. 

It  is  to  this  shrine  of  the  Maya  Venus  that  as  far  down  as  the  Spanish 
conquest,  pilgrims  repaired  yearly  to  offer  their  prayers  and  votive 
presents  to  propitiate  that  divinity.  Cogolludo  tells  us  that  it  was  on 
her  altar  that  the  priest  who  accompanied  the  adventurers  who  first 
landed  at  the  island,  after  destroying  the  effigies  of  the  Goddess  and  of 
her  companions  and  replacing  them  by  a  picture  of  the  Virgin  Mary, 
celebrated  mass  for  the  first  time  on  those  coasts  in  presence  of  a  throng 
of  astonished  natives.  They  gave  to  the  island  the  name  of  Mugeres 
(women).  I  was  told  that  formerly  many  of  the  votive  offerings  had  been 
disinterred  from  the  sand  in  front  of  the  building.  The  soil  at  that  place 
is  profusely  strewn  with  fragments  of  images  wrought  in  clay,  represent- 
ing portions  of  the  human  body.  I  was  myself  so  fortunate  as  to  fall 
in  with  the  head  of  a  priestess,  a  beautiful  piece  of  workmanship, 
moulded  according  to  the  most  exact  proportions  of  Grecian  art.  It 
had  formed  part  of  a  brazier  that  had  served  to  burn  perfumes  on  the 
altar  near  which  I  found  it.  I  happened  to  use  part  of  that  vase  to  hold 
some  live  coals,  and  notwithstanding  the  many  years  that  had  elapsed 
since  it  had  last  served,  a  most  sweet  odor  arose  and  filled  the  small 
building. 

I  had  read  in  Cogolludo  that  in  olden  times,  on  the  main  land,  opposite 
to  the  island  of  Mugeres,  was  the  city  of  Ekab.  I  was  desirous  of 
visiting  its  ruins,  but  no  one  could  indicate  their  exact  position.  They 
did  not  even  know  of  the  name.  They  spoke  of  Meco,  of  Nisucte,  of 
Kankun,  of  extensive  ruins  of  buildings  in  that  place,  where  they 


87 

provide  themselves  with  hewn  stones.  After  much  delay  I  was  able  to 
obtain  a  boat  and  men.  We  set  sail  for  Meco,  the  nearest  place  situated 
on  another  island  close  to  the  shores  of  the  main  land.  There  I  found  a 
ruined  edifice  surrounded  by  a  wall  forming  an  inclosure,  adorned  with 
rows  of  small  columns.  In  the  centre  of  the  inclosure  an  altar.  The 
edifice,  composed  of  two  rooms,  is  built  on  a  graduated  pyramid  com- 
posed of  seven  o.ndenes.  This  building  is  without  a  doubt  an  ancient 
temple.  We  next  visited  Nisucte.  There  we  found  the  same  sort  of 
monuments  but  built  on  a  large  scale.  These  places  have  merely  been 
shrines  visited  by  the  pilgrims  on  their  way  to  and  from  the  altar  of 
Venus.  The  main  point  of  importance  gained  in  visiting  these  ruins 
was  that  this  whole  coast-  had  been  inhabited  by  a  race  of  dwarfs 
and  that  these  edifices  were  their  work.  We  had  seen  their  portraits 
carved  on  the  pillars  of  the  fortress  at  Chichen-Itza.  We  had  seen  also 
their  pictures  among  the  several  paintings.  We  had  heard  of  the 
Indian  tradition,  very  current  among  the  natives,  that  many  of  the 
monuments  of  Yucatan  had  been  constructed  by  the  Alux-ob.  But  not 
until  we  visited  these  places  and  entered  their  houses,  did  we  become 
satisfied  of  the  fact  of  their  existence  that  till  then  we  had  considered  a 
myth.  Kankun,  where  the  ruins  of  numerous  houses  cover  a  great 
extent  of  ground,  must  have  been  the  real  site  of  Ekab.  The  dwarfish 
inhabitants  of  these  cities  must  have  been  a  very  tolerant  sort  of  people 
in  religious  matters,  since  in  the  same  temple,  nay  on  the  very  same 
altar,  we  have  found  side  by  side  the  phallic  emblems  with  the  image  of 
Kiikulcan. 

Our  explorations  in  that  part  of  the  country  were  at  an  end.  We 
were  beginning  to  grow  tired  of  our  fish  diet,  and  looked  with  anxiety 
for  an  opportunity  to  continue  our  voyage  to  the  island  of  Cozumel.  This 
island,  called  by  the  ancient  Mayas  Cozmil  (place  for  swallows),  was  the 
rendezvous  of  Indian  pilgrims  who  nocked  thither  every  year  to  pay 
homage  at  the  numerous  temples,  the  ruins  of  which  are  to  be  found 
in  the  thick  forests  that  now  cover  it.  The  expected  opportunity  offer- 
ing we  reached  the  village  of  San  Miguel  February  3,  1877.  Cozumel  is 
a  beautiful  island  of  about  45  miles  in  length  and  12  in  breadth.  The 
fertility  of  its  soil  is  evinced  by  the  luxuriant  growth  of  the  thick  and 
impenetrable  forests  of  valuable  timber  that  have  sprung  up  since  its 
abandonment  by  its  former  inhabitants  and  which  serve  either  for 
purposes  of  building  or  ornamentation.  Cocoa-nuts,  plantains,  bananas, 
pineapples,  ananas  and  other  tropical  fruits  grow  abundantly.  Vanilla, 
yams,  sweet  potatoes  and  vegetables  of  all  kinds  can  be  produced  in 
plenty,  while  honey  and  wax,  the  work  of  wild  harmless  bees,  and  copal 
are  gathered  on  the  trees.  The  tobacco,  which  is  to-day  the  article  that 
engrosses  the  mind  and  monopolizes  the  attention  of  the  planters,  is  of  a 
superior  quality,  emulating  the  Cuban  production.  On  the  other  hand 
the  thickets  are  alive  with  pheasants,  quail,  pigeons,  wild  pigs  and 
other  descriptions  of  game.  The  waters  swarm  with  the  most  excellent 


88 

fish  and  innumerable  turtles  sport  in  the  lagoons,  while  curlews,  snipe, 
ducks  and  other  aquatic  fowls  flock  on  their  shores ;  and  not  the  least  of 
the  gifts  with  which  the  munificient  hand  of  nature  has  so  bountifully 
endowed  this  delicious  oasis  of  the  ocean  is  its  delightful  and  soft,  yet 
invigorating,  climate,  that  makes  well  nigh  useless  the  art  of  the  phy- 
sician. 

At  some  epoch  it  is  evident  that  the  whole  island  was  under  cultiva- 
tion, which  is  proved  by  the  stone  fences  that  divide  it  into  small  par.- 
cels  or  farms  like  a  checker-board.  The  island,  like  the  whole  of  the 
Yucatan  peninsula,  has  evidently  been  upraised  from  the  bottom  of  the 
sea  by  the  action  of  volcanic  fires,  and  the  thin  coating  of  arable  loam 
of  surprising  fertility  which  covers  a  substratum  of  calcareous 
stones,  is  the  result  of  the  accumulation  of  detriti,  mixed  with  the 
residuum  of  animal  and  vegetable  life  of  thousands  of  years.  The 
greater  part  of  this  island  is  as  yet  archseologicafly  unexplored.  I 
have  no  doubt  that  thorough  explorations  in  the  depths  of  its  forests 
and  of  the  caves  would  bring  to  light  very  interesting  relics,  which 
would  repay  the  trouble  and  expense.  Rough  and  rude  as  is  the  con- 
struction of  the  monuments  of  the  island,  the  architecture  possesses 
the  same  character  as  that  of  the  more  elaborate  edifices  on  the  main 
land.  The  same  design  of  entablature,  with  some  little  difference  in  the 
cornice,  the  same  triangular  arch,  the  same  shaped  rooms — long  and 
narrow,  but  all  on  a  miniature  scale.  They  seem  more  like  dolls'  houses 
than  dwellings  for  man.  One  of  the  best  preserved  of  these  singular 
buildings  was  visited,  and  two  other  constructions,  consisting  of  inde- 
pendent and  separate  arches,  the  only  ones  we  ever  met  with  in  our 
rambles  in  Yucatan.  The  edifice  formed  at  one  time,  with  the  two 
triumphal  arches,  part  of  a  series  of  constructions  now  completely 
ruined.  It  was  a  temple  composed,  as  are  all  structures  of  the  kind,  of 
two  apartments,  a  front  or  ante-chamber,  and  the  sanctuary  or  holy  of 
holies.  In  this  case  the  ante-chamber  measures  59  inches  in  width  by  2 
yards  and  33  inches  in  length,  its  height  being  2  yards  and  30  inches  from 
the  floor  to  the  apex  of  the  triangular  arch  that  serves  as  ceiling.  The 
sanctuary  is  entered  through  a  doorway  1  yard  high  and  18  inches  wide, 
and  is  narrower  than  the  front  apartments,  measuring  only  34  inches 
across.  The  whole  edifice  is  externally  3  yards  high,  4  yards  29  inches 
long  and  4  yards  wide.  If  we  judge  of  the  stature  of  the  builders 
by  the  size  of  the  building,  we  may  really  imagine  this  to  have  been  the 
kingdom  of  Liliput,  visited  by  Gulliver.  The  triumphal  arches  present 
the  same  proportions  as  the  temple  I  have  just  described,  which  is 
by  no  means  the  earliest  archaic  structure.  Old  people  are  not  wanting 
who  pretend  to  have  seen  these  Alux-ob,  whom  they  describe  as  reaching 
the  extraordinary  stature  of  2  feet.  They  tell  us  of  their  habits 
and  mischievousness,  tales  which  forcibly  recall  to  our  minds  the 
legends  of  "  the  little  people  "  so  credited  among  all  classes  of  society 
in  Ireland.  There  can  be  no  reasonable  doubt  but  that  a  very  diminu- 
tive race  of  men,  but  little  advanced  in  the  arts  of  civilization,  dwelt  on 


89 

these  islands  and  along  the  eastern  coast  of  Yucatan,  and  that  many  of 
the  edifices,  the  ruins  of  which  are  to  be  seen  in  that  part  of  the  coun- 
try, are  the  works  of  their  hands,  as  the  tradition  has  it. 

The  attempt  has  been  made  in  the  previous  pages  to  bring 
the  discoveries  of  Dr.  Le  Plongeon  and  his  own  account  of 
his  labors  and  inferences  into  such  a  form  that  they  may  be 
easily  considered  by  those  competent  to  determine  their 
importance  and  bearing.  The  value  of  the  statue  called 
Chac-Mool,  as  an  archaeological  treasure,  cannot  be  ques- 
tioned. It  is  the  only  remaining  human  'figure  of  a  high 
type  of  art,  finished  "in  the  round"  known  to  have  been 
discovered  in  America  since  the  occupation  of  Maya  terri- 
tory in  the  16th  century. 

The  idols  of  Copan  have  expressive  human  countenances,* 
though  they  are  distorted  in  order  to  inspire  awe  and  fear 
in  the  beholder,  but  no  attempt  was  there  made  to  depict  the 
graceful  proportions  of  the  nude  figure.  They  stand  per- 
pendicularly, carved  from  solid  blocks  of  stone,  and  are  from 
10  to  15  feet  in  height.  The  figures  upon  them  are  bas- 
reliefs,  occupying  generally  only  f  of  the  length  of  the 
front,  while  the  back  of  the  block  is  a  straight  surface  and 
is  covered  with  emblems  and  hieroglyphics.  The  sculp- 
tures of  Palenquet  have  many  of  them  much  artistic 
beauty,  but  they  are  all  of  them  attached  figures,  as 
it  is  believed  are  also  the  beautiful  statues  of  Nin- 
eveh.:]: Even  the  slightest  touching  makes  a  figure  "in 
relief."  This  statue  from  Chichen-Itza  has  all  the  appear- 
ance of  being  intended  as  the  likeness  of  a  man,  and  much 
skill  is  shown  in  the  delineation  of  the  proportions.  It  is 
entirely  detached,  and  reposes  upon  a  base  carved  from 
the  same  block  of  stone  as  the  figure,  which  gives  it  a  higher 
rank  in  sculpture  than  any  other  in  America,  of  which  we 
have  ocular  proof  at  this  day.  It  is  a  noteworthy  circum- 
stance in  the  controversy  regarding  the  seizure  of  the  statue 

*  Stephens'  Travels  in  Central  America,  Chiapas  and  Yucatan,  vol.  I., 
page  158.  fid.  vol.  II.,  page  349.  J  Encyclopaedia  Britanuica.  Boston, 
1859  :  Article  Sculpture. 


90 

by  the  Yucatan  Government,  and  afterwards  by  that  of 
Mexico,  that  no  doubt  in  regard  to  its  authenticity,  so  far 
as  is  known  to  the  writer,  has  been  expressed  on  the  part 
of  those  who  would  naturally  be  the  best  judges  of 
objects  found  in  their  own  country.  Among  the  Le  Plongeon 
photographs  of  sculptures  from  Uxmal  is  a  head  in  demi- 
relief,  which  resembles  in  the  lineaments  of  the  face  those 
of  this  statue  so  much  as  to  offer  a  striking  likeness,  and 
this  agrees  with  the  theory  of  the  intimate  connection  of 
Chicheri-Itza  and  Uxmal,  adopted  in  the  communication 
to  Hon.  J.  W.  Foster. 

Diego  de  Landa,  second  Bishop  of  Yucatan,  in  his  account 
of  that  country  written  in  1566,  speaks  of  two  similar  statues 
observed  by  him  at  the  same  locality,  Chichen-Itza,  which 
place  he  speaks  of  as  famous  for  its  ruins.*  His  description 
is:  UI  found  there  sculptured  lions,  vases,  and  other  objects, 
fashioned  with  so  much  skill  that  no  one  would  be  tempted  to 
declare  that  that  people  made  them  without  instruments  of 
metal.  There  I  found  also  two  men  sculptured,  each  made  of 
a  single  stone,  and  girded  according  to  the  usage  of  the 
Indians.  They  held  their  heads  in  a  peculiar  manner,  and 
had  ear-rings  in  their  ears,  as  the  Indians  wear  them,  and 
a  point  formed  a  projection  behind  the  neck,  which  entered 
a  deep  hole  in  the  neck,  and  thus  adorned  the  statue  was 
complete."  lie  also  speaks  of  the  practice  of  burying 
articles  used  by  the  dead  with  their  ashes,f  and  he 
says:  "As  regards  Seigneurs  and  people  of  superior  con- 
dition, they  burn  their  remains,  and  deposit  their  ashes  in 
large  urns.  They  then  build  temples  over  them,  as  one  sees 
was  anciently  done,  by  what  is  found  at  Izamal."t 

The  statue  discovered  seems  to  resemble  those  spoken  of 
by  Landa  in  all  the  peculiarities  mentioned.  He  also  refers 
to  the  custom  among  the  women  of  filing  the  teeth  like 
a  saw,  which  was  considered  by  them  to  be  ornamental. § 

*  Relacion  de  las  Cosas  de  Yucatan,  de  Diego  de  Landa.  By  L.  Abb6 
Brasseur  de  Bourbourg.  Paris,  1864,  page  347.  f  Id-  197.  J  Id.  199. 
§Id.  183. 


91 

A  remark  to  Dr.  Le  Plongeon  about  the  statues  above  de- 
scribed drew  from  him  the  following  statement :  "  We  have 
seen  the  remnants  of  the  statues  you  referred  to  as  men- 
tioned by  Landa;  some  one  has  broken  them  to  pieces."  He 
also  speaks  of  the  resemblance  of  the  statue  he  discovered  to 
those  of  ancient  Egypt,  from  the  careful  finish  of  the  head 
and  the  lesser  degree  of  attention  bestowed  on  the  other 
parts  of  the  body. 

Dr.  Le  Plongeon  has  stated  in  the  first  of  the  three  com- 
munications contained  in  this  paper,  that  from  his  interpreta- 
tion of  mural  paintings  and  hieroglyphics  in  the  building 
upon  the  the  South-East  wall  of  the  Gymnasium  at  Chichen- 
Itza,  he  was  induced  to  make  the  excavation  which  resulted 
in  his  discovery.  Elsewhere  we  learn  that  in  the  same  build- 
ing, and  also  on  the  tablets  about  the  ears  of  the  statue,  he 
was  able  to  read  the  name  Chac-Mool,  &c.,  <fec.  (Chaac  or 
Chac  in  Maya  means  chieftain,  Mol  or  Mool  means  paw  of 
an  animal.)  He  says  that  the  names  he  gives,  "  were  written 
on  the  monuments  where  represented,  written  in  characters 
just  as  intelligible  to  my  wife  and  myself,  as  this  paper  is  to 
you  in  latin  letters.  Every  personage  represented  on  these 
monuments  is  known  by  name,  since  either  over  the  head 
or  at  the  feet  the  name  is  written."  He  also  states  that 
he  knows  where  the  ancient  books  of  the  H-Menes  lie 
buried,  as  well  as  other  statues.  The  discovery  of  one  of 
these  hidden  books  would  be  a  service  of  priceless  value. 

A  perusal  of  the  communications  contained  in  this  paper 
lead  to  the  impression  that  their  writer  accepts  many  of  the 
theories  advanced  by  Brasseur  de  Bourbourg,  that  he  is 
a  believer  in  the  interpretations  of  Landa,  and  that  he 
thinks  he  has  been  able  to  establish  a  system  which 
enables  him  to  read  Maya  inscriptions. 

Dr.  Le  Plongeon  has  been  accompanied  and  assisted  in  all 
his  labors  by  his  accomplished  wife,  and  he  has  frequently 
stated  that  a  great  part  of  the  credit  for  the  results  achieved 
is  due  to  her  intelligent  judgment  and  skilful  execution. 


92 

His  last  date  is  from  Belize,  British  Honduras,  September 
1.  In  that  letter  he  announces  the  preparation  of  a  paper 
for  the  Royal  Geographical  Society  of  London,  in  which  he 
says  he  shall  give  his  researches  in  extenso. 

After  four  years  of  toil  and  exposure  to  danger,  and  after 
a  large  expenditure  of  money  paid  for  services  in  opening 
roads,  clearing  ruins,  and  making  excavations,  Dr.  Le  Plon- 
geon  finds  himself  deprived  of  all  the  material  results  of  his 
labors  and  sacrifices  which  could  secure  him  an  adequate 
return.  We  hope  that  he  may  soon  receive  just  and  satis- 
factory treatment  from  the  government,  and  a  fitting  recog- 
nition and  remuneration  from  the  scientific  world. 

In  judging  of  the  subject  here  presented,  the  reader  will 
bear  in  mind  that  facts  substantiated  should  not  be  rejected, 
even  if  the  theories  founded  on  them  advance  beyond  the 
light  of  present  information. 


In  August,  Dr.  Le  Plongeon  sent  the  following  letter  with 
the  request  that  it  should  be  published  in  a  form  which  would 
allow  of  its  presentation  to  the  Congres  International  dvs 
Americanist  es,  which  would  be  held  at  Luxembourg  in  the 
month  of  September.  It  was  printed  in  the  Boston  Daily 
Advertiser,  in  the  issues  of  Sept.  3d  and  4th,  and  is  now 
repeated  in  the  same  type  in  this  connection.  The  spelling 
of  the  name  Chac-Mool  in  the  letter  was  changed  by  the 
writer  from  that  employed  in  the  text  by  Dr.  Le  Plongeon, 
which  is  invariably  Chaacmol;  a  liberty  taken  in  conse- 
quence of  the  unanimous  preference  in  favor  of  the  spelling 
Chac-Mool  shown  in  all  the  written  or  printed  articles  from 
Yucatan  relating  to  this  discovery,  which  have  come  to  our 
observation.  Copies  of  the  letter  were  sent  to  Luxem- 
bourg, and  also  to  the  Bureau  of  the  Socie'te'  des  Ameri- 
canistes  at  Paris. 


LETTER  FROM  DR.  LE  PLONGEON. 


ISLAND  OF  COZUMEL.  YUCATAN,  )  communication  held  by  the  merchants  of  Chichen 

June  15, 1877.     ]  with  the  traders  from  Asia  arid  Africa ;  ot  the  po- 

Stephen  Salisbury,  jr.,  esq.,  Worcester,  Mass.:—  uteness   of  courtiers   and   gracefulness   of    the 

Dear  Sir,—. . .  .The  London  Times  of  Wednesday,  qaeen ;  of  the  refinement  of  the  court ;  of  the  fu- 
Januarv  3, 1877,  contains  views  on  the  projected  neral  ceremonies,  and  of  the  ways  they  disposed 
congress  of  the  so-called  Americanists,  that  is  ex-  Qf  the  dead;  of  the  terrible  invasions  of  barbarous 
pectedto  be  held  at  Luxembourg  in  September  Nahua  tribes;  of  the  destruction,  at  their  hands, 
next.  Was  the  writing  intended  tor  a  damper?  of  the  beautiful  metropolis  Chichen-Itza,  the  cen- 
I±  so,  it  did  not  miss  its  aim.  It  must  have  frozen  tre  of  civilization,  the  emporium  of  the  countries 
to  the  very  core  the  enthusiasm  of  the  many  comprised  between  the  eastern  shores  of  Maya- 
dreamers  and  speculators  on  the  prehistoric  ua-  pan  and  the  western  of  Xibalba;  of  the 
tions  that  inhabited  this  western  continent.  AS  subsequent  decadence  of  the  nations;  of 
for  me,  I  felt  its  chill  even  under  the  burning  rays  their  internal'  strife  during  long  ages, 
of  the  tropical  sun  of  Yucatan,  notwithstanding  I  For  here,  in  reckoning  time,  we  must  not  count  by 
am,  or  ought  to  be,  well  inured  to  them  during  the  centuries  but  millenaries.  "We  do  not,  in  thus 
four  years  that  my  wife  and  myself  are  rambling  speaking,  indulge  in  conjectures— for,  verily,  the 

mong  the  ruined  cities  of  the  Mayas.  study  of  the  walls  leaves  no  room  for  supposition 

True,  t  am  but  a  cool  searcher  of  the  stupen-  to  him  who  quietly  investigates  and  compares, 
dous  monuments  of  the  mighty  races  that  are  no  How  far  Mrs.  Le  Plongeon  and  myself  have 
more,  but  have  left  the  history  of  their  passage  on  been  able  to  interpret  the  mural  paintings,  bas- 
earth  written  on  the  stones  of  the  palaces  of  their  reliefs,  sculptures  and  hieroglyphics,  the  results 
rulers,  upon  the  temples  of  their  gods.  The  glow-  of  our  labors  show.  (Some  of  them  have  been 
ing  tires  of  enthusiasm  do  not  overheat  lately  published  in  the  "Illustration  Hispano- 
my  imagination,  even  if  the  handiwork  Americana"  of  Madrid.)  The  excavating  of  the 
of  the  ancient  artists  unJ  architects—  magnificent  statue  of  the  Itza  king, 
if  the  science  ot  the  Itza  H-Menes— wise  Chac-Mool,  buried  about  five  thousand 
men,  fill  my  heart  with  a  surprise  akin  to  admira-  years  ago  by  his  wife,  the  queen  of 
tion.  Since  four  years  we  ask  the  stnnes  to  dis-  Chichen,  at  eight  metres  under  ground 
close  the  secrets  they  conceal.  The  portraits  of  (that  statue  has  just  been  wrenched  from  our 
the  ancient  kings,  those  of  the  men  with  long  hands  by  the  Mexican  government,  without  even 
beards,  who  seem  to  have  held  high  offices  an  apology,  but  the  photographs  may  be  seen 
among  these  people,  have  become  familiarized  at  the  residence  of  Mr.  Henry  Dixon,  No.  112  Al- 
with  us,  and  we  with  them.  At  times  they  appear  bany  street,  Regent  park,  London,  and  the  en- 
to  our  eyes  to  be  not  quite  devoid  of  lite,  not  en-  gravings  of  it  in  the  "  Ilustracion  HIspano-Amer- 
tirely  deaf  to  our  voice.  Not  unfrequently  the  icana");  the  knowledge  of  the  place  where  lies  that 
meaning  of  some  sculpture,  of  some  character,  of  of  Huuncay.  the  elder  brother  of  Chac-Mool,  in- 
some  palntirg,— rill  then  obscure,  unintelligible,  terred  at  twelve  metres  under  the  surface— of  the 
puzzling,— all  of  a  sudden  becomes  clear,  easy  to  site  where  the  H-Menes  hie!  their  libraries  con- 
understand,  full  of  meaning.  taining  the  history  of  their  nation— the  knowledge 

Many  a  stranjre  story  of  human  greatness  and  and  sciences  they  had  attained,  would  of  itself  be 
pride,  of  human,  petty  and  degrading  passions,  an  answer  to  Professor  Mommsen's  ridiculous  as- 
weakness  and  imperfections,  has  thus  been  di-  ser tion,  that  we  are  anxious  to  find  what  cannot 
vul;>ed  to  us;— while  we  were  also  told  of  tb*  cue-  be  known,  or  what  would  be  useless  if  discovered, 
toms  of  the  people;  of  the  scientific  acquirements  It  is  not  the  place  here  to  refute  the  learned  pro- 
of the  H-Menes ;  of  the  rel igious  rites  observed  by  lessor's  sayings;  nor  is  it  worth  while.  Yet  I 
the  kins  (priests);  of  their  impostures,  and  of  the  should  like  to  Know  if  he  would  refuse  as  use- 
superstition  they  inculcated  to  the  masses  of  the  less  the  treasures  of  King  Priam  because  made  ot 


94 

gold    that   belongs    tc  the   archaic   rimes— what  of  creation.    The  exploration  of  the  monuments 

gold  does  not?    Or,  if  he  would  turn  up  bis  noce  of  past  generations,  all   bearing  the  peculiarities, 

at  the  weatth  of  Agamemnon   because  he  knows  the  idiosyncracies  of  the  buik'ers,  has  convinced 

that  the  gold  and  precious  stones  that  compose  it  me  that  the  energies  of  human  mind  r.nd  intellect 

were  wrought  by  artificers  who  lived  four  thou-  are    the    same    in     all     times.        They     come 

sand  years  ago,  should  Dr.  Scbliemann  feel  in-  forth      in      proportion      to      the      requirements 

dined    10   offer    them  to   him.     What   says    Mr.  of       the        part       they       are       to       represent 

Mommsen?  in  the  great  drama  ot  life,  the  means  in  the  stu- 

Besides  mv  discovery  of  the  statues,  bas-reliefs,  pendous  mechanism  ot  the  universe  being  always 

etc.,  etc.,  which  would  be  worth  many  thousands  perfectly  and  wisely  adapted   to   the  ends.    It  is 

of  pounds  sterling  to— if  the  Mexican  government  therefore  absurd  to  judge  of  mental  attainments 

did  not  rob  them  from— the  discoverers,  the  study  of  man  in  different  epochs  .and  circumstances  by 

ot  the  works  of  generations  that  have  preceded  us  comparison  with  our  actual  civilization.    Forme 

affords  me  the  pleasure  of  following  the  trades  ot  the  teachings  of  archaeology  are  these:    ''Tempera 

the  human  mind  through  the  long  vista  of  ages,  to  mutantur,  mores  etiam  in  illis;  sicut  ante  homini 

discover  that  its  pretended  progress  and  develop-  etiam  man^nt  anima  et  mens." 
ment  are  all  imaginary,  at  least  on  earth.    T  have       Alchemists   have   gone  out   ot   fashion,   thank 

been  unable  to  the  present  day  to  trace  it,  I  really  God !    Would  that  the  old  sort  of  antiquaries,  who 

see  no  difference  between  the  civilized  man  of  to-  lose  their  time,  and    cause   others   to   lose  theirs 

day  and  the  civilized  man  of  five  thousan'd  years  also,     in     discussing     idle   speculations,   might 

ago.    I   do  not   perceive  that  the  human  mind  is  follow     suir.       History     requires     facts.— these 

endowed     in    our    times  with   powers  superior  facts,     proofs.          There      proofs        are       not 

to      those     it     possessed     in     ages     gone     by,  to  be  fouud  in  the  few  works  of  the  travellers  that 

but      clearly       discern        that        these       pow-  have  hastily  visited  the  monuments  that  strew  the 

ers       are      directed      in      different     channels,  soil  of   Central    America,   Mexico   and  Peru,  and 

Will  Professor  Mommsen  pretend  that  this  'S  also  given  of  them  descriptions  more  or  less  accurate— 

useless  after  being  found  ?    Man  today  is  the  same  very  often  erroneous— with   appreciations  always 

as  man  was  when  these  monuments,  which  cause  affected  by  their  individual  prejudices.    The  cus- 

the  wonder  of  the  modern  traveller,  were  reared,  toms  and  attainments   of   all  sorts  of  the  nations 

Is  he  not  influenced  by  the  same  instincts,  the  that  have  lived  on    the  western  continent,  before 

same  wants,  the  same  aspirations,  the  same  men-  it  was  America,  must  be   studied  ii>  view  of  the 

tal  and  physical  diseases?  monuments  they  have  left ;  or  of  the  photographs, 

I  consider  mankind  alike  to  the  waters  of  the  tracings  of  mural   paintings,  etc.,   etc.,  which  are 

ocean;  their  surface  is  ever  changing,  while  in  as  good  as  the  originals  themselves.    Not  even  the 

their   depths  is  the  same  eternal,  unchangeable  writings   of   the   chroniclers   of   the  time  of  the 

stillness  and  calm.    So  man  superficially.    He  re-  Spanish  conquest   can   be   implicitly  relied  upon, 

fleets  The  images  of  times  and  circumstances.  His  The  writers  on   the   one    hand   were  in  all   cases 

intellect  develops  and  expands  only  according  to  blinded  by  their  religious  tanaticism;  in  many  by 

the  necessities  of  the  moment  and  place.    As  the  their  ignorance;  on  the  other,  the   people  who  in- 

waves,  he  cannot  pass  the  boundaries  assigned  to  habited  the  country  at  the  time  of   the  arrival  of 

him  by  the  unseen,  impenetrable  Power  to  which  the   conquerors   were   not   the   builders   of    the 

all  things  are  s-ubservient.    He  is  irresistibly  im-  ancient  monuments.    Many  of  these  were  then  in 

pulsed   toward  his    inevitable   goal— the   grave,  ruins  ana  looked  upon  by  the  inhabitants,  as  they 

There,  as  far  as  he  positively  knows,  all  his  pow-  are  today,  with  respect   a  d  awe.       True,  many 

ers   are   silenced.    But  from  there  also  be  sees  of     the     habits     and     customs      of      the     an- 

sprinffing  new  forms  of  life  that  have  to    fulfil,  cients,       to        a        certain       extent,       existed 

in  their  turn,  their  destiny  in  the  great  laboratory  yet    among    them;     but      disfigured,    distorted 


95 

by  time,  aud  the  new  modes  of  thinking  and  liv-  I  will  not  speak  here  at  length  of   the   monu- 

ing  introduced  bv  the  invaders;  while,  strange  to  ments  of  Peru,  thac  during  eight  years  I  have  dili- 

sa.v, the  language  remained  unaltered.    Even  to-  gently  explored;  for,  with  but  few  exceptions, 

day,  it)  many  places  in  Yucatan  the  descendants  they  dwindle  into  insignificance  when  compared 

of  ihe  Spanish  conquerors  have  forgotten  the  na-  with  the  majestic  structures  reared  by  the  Mayas, 

live  tongue  of  thei*   sire?,  and  only  speak  Maya,  the  Cara*,  or  Carians,  and  other  nations  of  Central 

the  idiom  of  the  vanquished.    Traditions,  relig-  America,  and  become,  therefore,  devoid  of  inter- 

ious  rites,  superstitious   practices,  dance>,  weie  est  in  point  of  architecture  and  antiquity;  except- 

handed    down    from   generation    to   generation,  ing,  however,  The  ruins  of  Tiahuanaco,  that  were 

But,  as  the  sciences  were  of  old  the  privilege  of  already  ruins  at  the  time  of  the  foundation  of  the 

the  few,  the  colleges  and  temples  of  learning  hav-  Incas'  empire,  in  the  eleventh  century  of  our  era, 

ing  been  destroyed  at   the   downfall  of  Chichen,  and  so  old  i hat  the  memory  of  the  builders  was 

the  knowledge  was   imparted    by  the  fathers  to  lost  in  the  abysm  of  time.    The  Indians  used  to 

their  sons,  under  the  seal  of  the   utmost   secrecy,  say  that  these  were  The  work  of  giants  who  lived 

Through    the   long  vista  of  geneiations,  notwuh-  before  the  sun  shone  in  the  heavens.  "  It  is  well 

standing  the  few  books  that  existed  at  the  time  of  known  that  the  Incas  had  no  writing  characters  or 

the  conquesr,  and  were  n  great  pait  destroyed  by  hieroglyphics.        The     monuments     raised     by 

Bisop  Landa  and  other  fanatical  monks  the  learn-  their     hands      do     not     afford     any    clew    to 

ing  of  the  H-Menes  became  adulterated  in  passing  their     history.        Dumb     walls     merely,     their 

from     mouth    to     mouth,    merely     committed  mutism     leaves     large    scope    to     imagination, 

to      memory,     and     was     at     last     lost     and  and    one    may    conjecture    any    but   the    right 

changed   into   the  many   ridiculous  notions  and  thing.    Of  the  historical  records  of  that  powerful 

strange    practices   said    to  have  beeu  consigned  but  short-lived  dynasty  we  have  nothing  left  but 

afterward  to  these  writings.  the  fevv   imperfect  and   rotten  quippus  which  are 

Withal  the  knowledge  of   reading  those  bocks  occasionally  disinterred  from  the  huacas. 

was  retained   by  some  ot   the   descendants  of  the  If  we  desire  to  know  anything   about   the  civil 

H-Menes.    I  would  not  take  upon  myself  to  aesert  laws  and  policy,  the  religious  rites  and  ceremonies 

positively    that    some    of    the    inhabitants    of  of  the  Incas,  their   scanty  scientific  attainments, 

Feten— the  place  where   the   Itzas  took  refuge  at  and  their  very  few  and  rude  artistic  attempts,  we 

the  beginning  of  the   Christian   era   after  the  de-  are  obliged  to  recur  to  the  "Comentarios  reales" 

struction  of  their  city— are  not    still  in  possession  of  Garcilasso  de  la  Vega,  to  the  Decadas  of  Her- 

of  the  secret.    At  all  events,!  was  toid  that  people  rera,  to  Zarata  and  other  writers  of  the  time  of 

who  could  read  the  Maya  pic-huun  (books),  and  to  the  conquest  of  Peru  by  Francisco  Pizarro.    None 

whom  the  deciphering   of  the  Uooh  (letters)  ai  d  of   them  —  Montesmos   excepted  —  try    to    shed 

the  figurative  characters   was   known,  existed  as  any  light  on  the  origin  of   Manco- Ceapac    and 

far  back  a?  forty  years  ago,  but  kept  their  knowl-  that  of  his   sister   and   wife,   Mama-Oello,   nor 

edge  a  secret,  lest  they  should   be  persecuted  by  on  the  state  of  the  country  before  their  arrival  at 

the  priests  as  wizards   and  their   precious  volume  Cuzco. 

wrenched  from  them  and  destroyed.    The  Indians  I  have  been  mo-t  happy  in  my  researches  into 

hold  them  yet  in  great  veneration.    I  am  ready  to  the  history   of  this  founder  of  the   Inca  dynasty, 

give  lull  credit  to  this    assertion,   for   during  my  whom  many  consider  a  mere   my. hical  being.    In 

rambles  and  explorations  in  Peru  and  Bolivia  I  was  the  library  of  the  British  Museum  I  came  across 

repeatedly  informed  that  people  existed  ensconced  an  old  Spanish  manuscript,  written  by  a  Jesuit 

in  remote  nooks  of  the  Andes,  who  could  interpret  father,  A.  Anilla,  under,  as  he  asserts,  the  dicta- 

the  quippus  (string  writing)  aod  yet  made  us-e  of  tion  ot  a  certain   Catdri,  an  ex-quippucamayoer— 

them  to  register  their  l;miilv  records,  keep  account  archive-keeper, 

of  their  droves  of  llama,*  and  other  property.  Writing  new  from  memory,  far  away    from  uiy 


96 

books,  note?,  plans,  etc.,  etc.,  left  lor  safe-keeping  dialects  of  ihe  Aryan  nations  previous  to  their 
in  the  bands  of  a  fiiend  in  Merida,  I  do  none-  separation,  I  would  not  pretend  to  impugn  the 
member  the  number  of  the  catalogue.  But  it  is  grand  discovery  of  Mr.  Lopez.  But  I  can  positive- 
easy  to  look  for  "Lasvidasde  los  hombres  Hits-  ly  assert  that  expressions  are  not  wanting  in  the 
tres  de  fa  conipania  de  Jesus  en  las  Provincias  Peruvian  tongue  that  bear  as  strong  a  family  re- 
del  Peru,"  where  I  have  read  of  the  origin  of  semblance  to  the  dialects  spoken  in  the  Sandwich 
Manco-Ceapac,  of  bis  wanderings  from  the  sea  Islands  and  Tahiti,  where  I  resided  a  few  month-, 
coasts  to  those  ol  the  lake  of  Titicaca,  and  hence  as  the  ruins  of  Tiahuanaco  to  those  of  Easter 
through  the  country  till  at  last  he  arrived  at  the  Island,  that  are  c  >ra posed  of  stones  not  to  le 
village  ot  Cuzco,  where  he  was  kindly  received  by  found  to<iay  in  that  place.  When  I  visited  it  I 
the  inhabitants  and  established  blmself.  This  was  (-truck  with  the  perfect  similitude  of  the 
MS.  also  speaks  of  the  history  ot  his  ancestors,  of  structures  found  there  and  the  colossal  statues, 
their  arrival  at  Tumbes  after  leaving  their  homes  which  forcibly  recalled  to  my  mind  those  said  by 
in  the  countries  of  tLe  north  in  search  of  some  lost  Pfnelo  to  have  existed  in  Tiahuanaco  even 
relatives,  of  their  slow  progress  toward  the  South,  at  the  time  of  the  Spanish  conquest, 
and  the  vain  inquiries  about  their  friends,  etc.,  This  similarity  in  the  buildings.  and 
etc.  Now  that  I  have  studied  part  of  the  history  language  of  the  people  separated  by 
of  the  Mayas  and  become  acquainted  with  their  such  obstacles  as  the  deep  water  of  the  Pacific, 
customs,  as  pictured  in  the  muraJ  paintings  that  hundieds  ol  miles  apart,  cannot  be  attributed  to 
adorn  the  walls  of  the  inner  room  a  mere  casual  coincidence.  To  my  miua  it  plainly 
of  the  monument  raised  to  the  memory  shows  that  communications  at  some  epoch 'or 
of  Chac-Mool  by  the  Queen  of  Itza,  his  wife,  on  other  have  existed  between  these  countries,  on 
the  south  end  of  the  east  wall  of  tiie  gymnasium,  this  particular  point  I  have  a  theory  of  my  own, 
at  Chichen  (the  tracings  of  these  paintings  are  in  which  I  think  1  can  sustain  by  plausible  facts,  not 
our  power),  and  also  in  the  traditions  and  customs  speculative ;  but  ibis  is  not  the  place  to  indulge  in 
of  their  descendants,  by  comparing  them  with  theories.  I  will,  therefore,  refrain  from  intruding 
those  of  the  Quichuas,  I  cannot  but  believe  that  mine  on  your  readers.  On  the  other  hand,  they 
Manco's  ancestors  emigrated  from  Xibalba  or  are  welcome  to  see  it  in  the  discourse  1  have  pro- 
Mayapan,  canying  with  them  the  notions  of  the  Bounced  before  the  American  Geographical  So- 
mother  country,  which  they  inculcated  to  their  ciety  ot  New  York  in  January,  1873,  which  has 
sons  and  grandsons,  and  introduced  them  among  been  published  in  the  New  York  Tribune,  lecture 
the  tribes  that  submitted  to  their  sway.  sheet  No.  8. 

Let  it  be  remembered  that  the  Quichua  was  not  The  Quichua  contains  also  many  words  that 
the  mother- tongue  of  the  Incas,  who  in  court  seem  closely  allied  to  the  dialects  spoken  by  the 
spoke  a  language  unknown  to  the  common  people,  nations  inhabiting  the  regions  called  today 
They,  for  political  motives,  and  particularly  to  at-  Central  America  and  the  Maya  tongue, 
story  the  feuds  that  existed  between  the  inhabi-  It  would  not  be  surnrising  that  some 
tants  of  the  different  provinces  of  their  vast  do-  colony  emigrating  from  these  coun- 
minions,  ordered  the  Quichua  to  be  taught  to  and  tries  should  have  reached  the  beautiful 
learned  by  everybody,  and  to  be  regarded  as  the  valiey  of  Cuzco,  and  established  themselves  in  it, 
tongue  of  Ttahuantinsuyu.  Their  subjects,  from  in  times  so  remote  that  we  have  no  tradition  even 
however  distant  parts  of  the  empire  could  then  of  the  event.  It  is  well  known  that  the  Quichua, 
also  understand  each  other,  and  came  with  time  was  the  language  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  valley 
to  consider  themselves  as  members  of  the  same  if  Cuzco  exclusively  before  It  became  generalized 
familv.  in  Ttahuantinsuyu,  and  it  is  today  the  place 

I  have  bestowed  some  attention  upon  the  study  where  ic  is  spoken  with  more  perfection  and 
of  the  Quichua.  Not  being  acquainted  with  the  purity. 


97 

In  answer  to  tbe  question,  if  man  came  from  to  the  image  he  had  replaced,  wi*h  signs  ot  rc- 
the  older  (?)  world  of  Asia,— and  if  so  how,  there  spect  and  veneration,  on  the  table— "is  very  old; 
are  several  points  to  consider,  ana  not  the  least  very  great  thing, — only  very  wise  men  and  saints 
important  relates  to  the  relative  antiquity  of  the  are  allowed  to  touch  it."  Alter  much  ado  and  coax- 
continents.  You  are  well  aware  that  geologists,  ing,  he  at  last  told  me,  ,n  a  voice  as  lull  of  rever- 
naturalists  and  other  scientists  are  not  wanting  ence  as  a  Brahmiu  would  in  uttering  the  sacred 
who,  with  the  late  Professor  Agassiz,  sustain  that  word  O-A-UM,  that  the  meaning  ot  the  inscription 
this  western  continent  is  as  old,  if  n?t  older,  than  was  Fo. 

Asia  and  Europe,  or  Africa.  Leaving  this  ques-  Some  families  of  Indians,  that  live  in  the  re- 
tion  to  be  settled  by  him  wno  may  accomplish  it,  mote  bolsones  (small  valleys  of  the  Andes\  sport 
I  will  repeat  here  what  I  have  sustained  long  ago:  even  today  a  cue  as  the  inhabitants  of 
that  the  American  races  are  autochthonous,  and  the  Celestial  empire,  and  the  people 
have  ha  I  many  thousand  years  ago  relations  with  in  Eten,  a,  small  village  near  Piura, 
the  inhabitants  of  the  other  parts  of  speak  a  language  unknown  to  their  neighbors,  and 
the  earth  just  as  we  have  them  today.  This  are  said  to  easily  bold  converse  with  the  coolies 
fact  I  can  prove  by  the  mural  paintings  and  bas-  of  the  vicinage.  When  and  how  did  this  inter- 
reliefs,  ana  mure  than  all  by  the  portraits  of  men  course  exist,  is  rather  difficult  to  answer.  1  am 
with  long  beards  that  are  to  be  seen  in  Chichen  even  timorous  to  insinuate  it,  lest  the  believers  in 
Itza,  not  to  speak  of  the  Ma>a  tongue,  which  con-  the  chronology  of  the  Bible,  who  make  the  worla 
tains  expressions  from  nearly  every  language  a  little  more  than  5800  years  old,  should  come 
spoken  in  olden  times  (to  this  point  I  will  recur  down  upon  me,  and,  after  pouring  upon  my  hum- 
hereafter),  and  also  by  the  smaTl  statues  of  turn-  ble  self  their  most  damning  anathemas,  consign 
baya  (a  mixture  of  silver  and  copper)  found  me,  at  the  dictates  ot  their  sectarian  charity,  to 
in  the  huacas  of  Chimu,  near  Trujillo  on  the  that  place  over  the  door  of  which  Dante  read,— 
Peruvian  coast,  aud  by  those  of  the  val'ey  of  rerine  si  vd  tra  la  pcrduta  gente. 
Chincha.  Lasciate  ogni  speranza  voi  ch'  entrate. 

These  statues,  which  seem  to  belong  to  a  very  And  yet  mine  is  not  the  fault  if  reason  tells  me 

ancient  date,  generally  represent  a   man   seated  that  the  climate  of  Tiahnanaco,  situated  near  tbe 

cross-legered  on  the  back  of  a  turtle.    The  head  is  shores  of  the  lake  of  Titicaca,  13,500  feet  above  the 

shaved,  except  the  top,  where  the  hair  is   left  to  sea,  must  not  have  always  been  what   it   is   now, 

grow,  and  is  plaited  Chinese  fashion.    Noc  uiifre-  otherwise  the  ground   around    it,  and   for   many 

qucntly  the  arms  are  extended,  the   hands   rest  miles     barren,       would     not     have    been    able 

upon  pillars  inscribed  with  characters    much  re-  to  support  the  population  of  a  large  city.    Today 

sembling  Chinese.  I  have  had  one  of  these  curious  it  produces  merely  a  few  ocas  (a  kind  of  small  po- 

objects  long  in  my  possession.    Notwithstanding  tato  that  is  preserved  frozen),  and  yields  scanty 

being  much  worn    by  time   and   tbe   salts   con-  crops  of  maize  and  beans.     Tiahuanaco  may,  at 

tained  in  the  earth,  it  was  one  of  the  most  perfect  some  distant  period,  have  enjoyed  the  privilege  of 

I  have  seen.    It  was  found  in  the  valley  of  Chin-  being  a  seaport.    Nothing  opposes  this   supposi- 

cha.    I  showed  it  one  day  to  a  learned  Chinaman,  tion.    On  one  hand,  it  is  a  well-known  tact  that, 

ami  was  quite  amused  in  watching  his  face  while  owing  to  the  conical  motion  of  the  earth,  the  wa- 

he  examined  the  image.    His  features  betrayed  so  ters  retreat  continually  from  the  western  coasts 

vividly  the  different  emotions  that  preyed  upon  of  America,  which  rise  at  a  certain  known  ratio 

his  mind,— curiosity,  surprise,  awe,  superstitious  every  cen'ury.     On  the  other  hand,  the  bank  of 

fear.    I  asked  him  if  he  understood  the  characters  oysters    and   other    marine    shells    and    debris, 

engraved  on  the  pillars?  "Yes,"  said  he,  "these  are  found  on  the  slopes  of  the  Andes  to  near  their 

the   anci3nt  letters  used  in  China  before  the  in-  summit?,  obviouslv  in. licate  that  at  some  time  or 

venti  n  of  those  in  usage  today.     Thai"— pointing  other  the  sea  has  covered  them. 


98 

When  was  that?    I  -will  leave  to  sectarians  to  quest,  and  where   the   Spaniards   retreated    for 

compute,  lest  the  reckoning  should  carry  us  back  safety    alter    the    defeat   they   suffered   ar,   the 

to  that  time  when  the  space  between  Tiahuanaco  hands    ot     the    dwellers    of    the    country    near 

and  Easter  Island  was  dry  land,  and  the  valleys  the     ruins     of     Chicben-Itza,    is     to     be     seen 

and      plains     now     lying      under      the      waters  an    immense     building:       composed      of      three 

of      the      Pacific       swarmed       with       industri-  superposed  platforms.     The   upper   one  forms  a 

ous,    intelligent    human     beings,    were    strewn  terrace  supporting  three  rows  ot  twelve  columns. 

with  cities    and  villas,  yielded    luxuriant   crops  Each  column  io  composed  of  eight  large  square 

to  the  inhabitants,  and    the  figure   should   show  stones,  piled  one  upon  the  other,  without  cement, 

that  people  lived  there  before  the  creation  of  the  to  a  height  of  four  metres,  and  indicate  a  lapse  of 

world.    I  recoil  with  horror  at  the    mere   idea  of  1GO  years  in  the  life  of  the  nation.  These  stones  are, 

being  even  suspected  of  insinuating  such   an  he-  or  were,  called  Katun.    Every  twenty  years,  amid 

retical  doctrine.  the  rejoicings  of   the    ]  eopie,  another  stone  was 

But  if  the  builders  of  the  strange  structures  on  added  to  those  already  piled  up,  and  a  new  era  or 

Easter  Island  have  had,    then,   communications  epoch  was  recorded  in  the  history  and  life  of  the 

with  the  rearers  of  Tiahuanaco  by  land,  then  we  people.    After  seven  of  these  stones  had  thus  been 

may  easily  account   for   the   many   coincidences  placed— that  is  to  say,  after  a  lapse  of  140  years— 

which   exist   between   the   laws,  religious  rites,  they  began  the  Ahau-Katun, or  King  Katun,  when 

sciences,—  astiouomical     and    others, — customs,  a  small  stone  was  added  every  four  years  on  one 

monuments,  langu  ges,  and  even  dresses,  of  the  of  the  corners  of  the  uppermost,  and  at  tne  tnd  of 

inhabitants  of  this  Western  continent,  and  those  the  twenty  years  ot   the  Afiau-A'alun,v/\th  great 

ot  Asia  and  Africa.    Hence  the  similarity  of  many  ceremonies  and  feasting,  the  crowning  stone  was 

Asiatic  and  American  notions.     Hence,  also,  the  placed   upon  the  supporting  small   ones.     (The 

generalized  idea  of  a   deluge  among  men,  whosa  photographs  of  this  monument  can  be  seen  at  the 

traditions  remount  to  the  time  when  the  waters  house  of  Mr.  H.  Dixon.)    Kow,  as  I  have  said,  we 

that  coveted  the  plains  of  America,  Europe,  Af-  have  thirty-six  columns  composed  of  eight  stones, 

rica  and  Asia  left  their  beds,  invaded  the  portions  each  representing-  a  period  of  twenty  years,  wliich 

of  the  jrlobe  they  now  occupy,  and  destroyed  their  would  give  us  a  total  of  5760  years  since  the  first 

inhabitants.  Katun  was  placed  on  the  terrace  to  the  time  whrn 

Since  that  Mme,  when,  of  course,  all  com  muni-  the  city  was  abandoned,  shortly  after  the  Spanish 

cations  were  cut  between  the  few  individuals  that  conquest. 

escaped  the  cataclysm  by  taking  refujre  on  the  On   the   northeast   of    the    great    pyramid    at 

highlands,  their  intercourse  has  been  renewed  at  Chicben-Itza,  at  a  short  distance  from  this  monu- 

different  and  very  remote  epochs—a  tact  that  I  meut,  can  be  seen  the  graduated  pyramid  that  once 

can  easily  prove.  upon  a  time  supported  the  main  temple  of  the 

But,  why  should  we  lose  ourselves  in  the  mazes  city  dedicated  to  Kukulcan  (the  winged  serpent), 

of  supposition,  where  we  run  a  fair  chance  of  the  protecting  divinity  of  the  place.    On   three 

wandering  astray,  when  we  may  recur  to  the  rnon-  sides  the  structure  is  surrounded  by  a  massive 

uments  of  Yucatan?     These  are  unimpeachable  wall  about  five  metres  high  and  eight  wide  on  the 

witnesses  that  the   Peninsula  was   inhabited  by  top.    On  that  wall  are  to  be  se  n  the  columns  of 

civilized  people  many  thousand   years    ago,  even  the  Katuns.    The   rank  vegetation  has  invaded 

before  the  time  ascribed  by  the  Mosaic  records  to  every  part  of  the  building,  a«a  thrown   many  of 

the  creation.  the  columns  to  the  ground.    I  began  to  clear  tlie 

Among  the  ruins  of  Ak6,  a  city  unique  in  Yuca-  trees  from  the  pyramid,  but  was  unable  to  finish 

tan  for  its  strange  architecture,  evidently  built  by  work  because  of  the  disarming  of  my  workmen, 

giant-,  whose  bones  are  now  and  then  disinterred,  owing  to  a  revolution   that  a  certain   Teodosio 

a  city  that  was  inhabited  at  tue  time  of  the  con-  Canto    had  initiated  against  the    government,  of 


99 


kYuca:  an.  I  counted  as  many  as  one  hundred  and  portance.  All  in  Uxmal  proclaims  the  decadency  of 
twenty  columns,  but  got  tired  of  pushing  my  way  art,  tne  relaxation  of  morals,  the  depravity 
through  the  nearly  impenetrable  thicket,  where  I  of  -customs,  the  lewdness  of  the  m- 
could  see  many  more  among-  the  shrubs.  habitants.  In  Chichen  they  represent  the  life- 

Those  I  counted  would  give  an  aggregate  of  giving  power  of  the  universe  under  the  emblems 
19,200  year:*,— quite  a  respectable  old  age,  of  the  Sun  and  Kukulcan.  In  Uxmal  they  wor- 
even  for  the  life  of  a  nation.  This  shipped  the  phallus,  which  is  to  be  seen  every- 
is  plainly  corroborated  bv  the  other  means  where,  in  the  courts,  in  the  ornaments  of  the  tem- 
of  reckoning  the  antiquity  of  the  monuments,—  pies,  in  the  residences  of  the  priests  and  priest- 
such  as  the  wear  of  the  stones  by  meteorological  esses,  in  all  the  monuments  except  the  house  of 
influences,  or  the  thickness  of  the  stratum  of  the  the  governor,  built  by  Aac,  the  younger  brother 
rich  loam,  the  Jesuit  of  ihe  decay  of  vegetable  and  assassin  of  Chac-Mool. 

life,  accumulated  on  the  roofs  and  terraces  ot  the  The  edifices  of  Uxmal  are  evidently  con- 
buildings,  not  to  speak  of  their  position  respecting  structed  with  less  art  and  knowledge  than  those 
the  pole-star  and  the  declination  of  the  magnetic  of  Chichen.  The  latter  remain  whole  and  nearly 
needle.  imact,  except  in  those  pjaces  where  the  hand  of 

The  architecture  of  the  Mayas  is  urlike  that  of  man  has  been  busy;  the  former  have  suffered 
any  other  people  of  what  Is  called  the  Old  World,  much  from  the  nclemencies  of  the  atmosphere, 
It.  resembles  only  itself.  And,  notwithstanding  -  and  from  the  ignorance  and  vandaiistic  pro;,ensi- 
that  Mayapan,  from  the  most  remote  times,  was  ties  of  the  visitors.  I  have  been  present  at  the  de- 
visited  by  tiavellers  from  Asia  and  Africa,  by  the  struction  of  magnificent  walls  where  the 
wise  and  learned  men  who  came  from  abroad  to  ruins  stand.  Some  prefer  to  destroy 
consult  the  H-Menes;  notwithstanding,  also,  the  these  relics  of  past  ages,  rather  than  to  pick 
invasion  of  the  Nahuas  and  the  visitation  of  the  up  with  more  ease  the  stones  that  strew  the 
pilgrims,  the  Maya  art  of  building  remained  pecu-  soil  in  every  direction. 

liar  and  unchanged,  and  their  language  was  The  ornaments  of  temples  and  palaces  are  mo>t- 
adopted  by  their  conquerois.  The  Nahuas,  ly  composed  of  hieroglyphic1*,  highly  adorned,  of 
after  destroying  the  city  of  ihe  wise  men,estab-  the  emblems  of  religious  rites,  of  statues  of  great 
llshe;!  themselves  in  Uxmal,  on  account  of  its  men  and  priests,  surrounded  by  many  embellish- 
strategic  position,  in  the  midst  of  a  plain  in-  ments.  In  Uxmal  the  columns  are  representa- 
closed  by  hills  easily  defended.  To  embellish  that  tions  of  the  phallus-worship  of  the  Nahuas.  In 
city,  where  dwelt  the  foes  of  Chichen,  they  copied  Chichen  the  base  is  formed  by  the  head  of  Ku- 
the  complex  ornamentation  of  the  most  ancient  kulcan,  the  shaft  by  the  bodv  of  the  serpent,  with 
building  of  that  metropolis,— the  palace  and  its  feathers  beautifully  carved  to  the  very  chap- 
museum,— disdaining  the  chastity,  the  simplicity,  ter.  On  the  chapters  ot  the  columns  that  support 
the  beautiful  ana  tasteful  elegance  of  the  monu-  the  portico,  at  the  entrance  ot  the  castle  in  Chich- 
merts  of  the  latter  period.  These,  of  graceful  and  en-Itza,  may  be  seen  the  carved  figures  of  long- 
airy  proportions,  are  utterly  devoid  of  the  pro-  bearded  men,  with  upraised  hands,  in  the  act;  of 
fusion  arid  complexity  of  ornamentation  and  de-  worshipping  sacred  trees.  They  forcibly  recall  to 
sign  that  overload  the  palaces  and  temples  of  the  mind  the  same  worshio  in  Assyria,  as  seen  on 
Uxmal.  When  gazing  on  the  structures  of  that  tne  slabs  found  by  Layard  in  the  ruins  of 
ciiy,  and  comparing  them  with  those  of  Chichen,  Nineveh,  now  in  the  Assyrian  gallery  of  the 
it  seemed  that  1  wa;  contemplating  alow-born,  British  Museum.  No  one  can  form  an  exact  idea 
illiterate  man,  on  whom  Fortune,  in  one  of  her  of  the  monuments  of  Mayapan  by  readme  mere 
strange  freaks,  has  smiled,  and  who  imagines  that  descriptions.  It  is  neces-ary  to  either  examine 
by  beuecking  nimself  with  gaudy  habiliments  and  the  buildings  th  mselves  (and  this  is  not  quite  de- 
shining  jewelry  he  acquires  knowledge  and  im-  void  of  danger,  since  the  most  interesting  are 


100 


situated  in  territories  forbidden  to  white  men,  and 
occupied  by  the  hostile  Indians  of  Chan-Santa- 
Cruz,  who  since  1849  wage  war  to  the  knife  on  the 
inhabitants  of  Yucatan,  and  have  devastated  the 
greatest  part  of  that  State),  or  to  study  my  mag- 
nificent collection  of  photographs  where  they  are 
most  faithfully  portrayed;  that  can  be  done  with 
more  ease,  without  running  the  risk  of  losing 
one's  life. 

It  is  said  that  the  deciphering  of  the  American 
hieroglyphics  is  a  rather  desperate  enterprise,  be- 
canse  we  have  uo  Rosetta  stone  with  a  bilingual 
inscription.  I  humbly  beg  to  differ  from 
that  opinion;  at  least  as  regards  the 
inscriptions  on  the  walls  of  the  monuments  of 
Mayapan.  In  the  first  instance,  the  same  lan- 
guage, with  but  few  alterations,  that  was  used  by 
the  builde.s  ^f  these  edifices  is  today  commonly 
spoken  by  the  inhabitants  of  Yucatan  and  Peten, 
and  we  have  books,  grammars  and  dictionaries 
compiled  by  the  Franciscan  friars  in  the  first 
years  of  the  conquest,  translated  in  Spanish, 
French  and  English.  We  do  not,  therefore,  re- 
quire an  American  Rosetta  stone  to  be  discoveied. 
Secondly,  if  it  is  undeniable  that  Bishop  Landa 
consigned  to  the  flames  all  the  books  of  the  Mayas 
that  happened  to  fall  into  his  hands,  it  is  also  true 
that  by  a  singular  freak  he  preserved  us.  in  great 
part  at  least,  the  Maya  alphabet  in  his  work,  "Las 
Cosas  de  Yucatan,"  discovered  by  Brasseur  de 
Bourbourg  in  the  national  library  of  Madrid.  The 
Americanists  owe  much  to  the  researches  of  the 
abbe\  I  consider  his  works  as  deserving  a  better 
reception  than  they  have  ever  bad  from 
the  scientific  world  at  large.  It  is  true  that 
he  is  no  respecter  of  Mosaic  chronology,— 
and  who  can  be  in  presence  of  the  monuments  of 
Central  America?  Reason  commands,  and  we 
mast  submit  to  evidence  and  truth !  I  have  care- 
fully compared  the  characters  of  said  manuscript 
with  those  engraved  upon  the  stones  in  Chichen, 
which  I  photographed,  and  found  them  alike. 
Some  on  the  frontispieces  of  the  palaces  and  tem- 
ples differ,  it  is  true,  but  do  not  our  ornamented 
capital  letters  from  the  small?  Their  deciphering 
may  give  a  little  more  trouble. 

The    Maya?,    besides     using    their    alphabet, 


employed  at  the  same  time  a  kind  of  pictorial  writ- 
ing, something  not  unlike  our  rebus.  They  also 
would  record  domestic  and  public  life-customs, 
religious  worship  and  ceremonies,  funeral  rites, 
court  receptions,  battles,  etc.,  etc.,  just  as  we  do 
in  our  paintings  and  engravings,  portraying  them 
with  superior  art  and  perfect  knowledge  of  draw- 
ing and  color?,  which  also  had  their  acceptr  1  and 
acknowledged  meaning.  These  we  have  already 
partly  deciphered,  and  now  understand. 

I  have  said  it  was  my  firm  conviction  that 
among  the  inhabitants  of  Peten— nay,  nerohance, 
also,  of  Chan-Santa-Cruz-some  one  may  he  found 
who  is  still  possessed  of  the  knowledge  of  reading 
the  ancient  Pic-huun.  But  the  Indians  are  any- 
thit'g  but  communicative,  and  they  are  at  all 
times  unwilling  to  reveal  to  the  white  men  what- 
ever may  have  been  imparted  to  them  by  their 
fathers.  To  keep  these  things  a  secret  they  con- 
sider a  sacred  duty.  They  even  refuse  to  make 
known  the  medicinal  properties  of  certain  plants, 
while  they  are  willing,  provided  they  feel  a  liking 
for  you,  or  are  asked  by  a  person  whom  they  re- 
spect or  love,  to  apulv  these  plants,  prepared  by 
thpm,  to  heal  the  bite  of  a  rattlesnake,  tarantula, 
or  any  of  the  many  venomous  animals  that  abound 
in  their  forests. 

During  the  many  years  that  I  have  been  among 
the  Indians  of  all  parts  of  America, — r,ow  with 
the  civilized,  cow  amidst  those  that  inhabit  the 
woods  far  away  from  ihe  commerce  of  people.— 
strange  to  say,  reciprocal  sympathy  and  good  feel- 
ing have  always  existed  between  us;  they 
have  invariably  ceased  to  consider  me  a  stranger, 
This  singular  attractive  feeling  has  often  caused 
them  to  open  their  hearts;  and  to  it  I  owe  the 
knowledge  of  many  curious  facts  and  traditions 
that  otherwise  I  should  never  have  known. 
This  unknown  power  did  not  fail  me  in  Espita.  a 
pretty  little  town  in  the  eastern  part  of  Yucatan, 
where  I  received  from  a  very  old  Indian  not  only 
the  intelligence  that  forty  years  ago  men  still  ex- 
isted who  could  read  the  ancient  Maya  writing, 
but  also  a  clue  to  decipher  the  insciiptions  on  the 
buildings. 

Conversing  with  some  friends  in  Espita  about  the 
ancient  remains  to  be  found  in  that  vicinity,  they 


101 

ollereil   to  show  me  one  of  the  most  inteieftmg  "Oh   jes!    I   ha'l   a  friend  in  Sad  (Valladolid 

relics  ot  olden  times.    A.  few  days  later  they  ush-  today), — he   died    forty  years  ago  or  so, — a  very, 

ered  into  my  presence  a  venerable    old  Indian,  verv  old    man.    His  rame   was  Manuel    Alayon. 

His  hairs  were  gray,  bis  eyes  blue  with  atje.    The  He  used   to   tell   us   all  about  these  enchanted 

late  curate  of  the  place,  Senor  Dominguez,  who  houses.    He  had  a  book  that  none  hut  he  could 

departed  this  life  at  the  respectable  age  of  ninety,  read,  which  contained   many  thines  about  them, 

was  wont  to  say  that  he  had,  since  a  child,  and  as  We  used  to  gather  at  dis  house  at  night  to  listen 

long  as  he  could  remember,  always  known  Ma-  to  the  reading  of  that  book." 

riano  Chable,  the  same  old  man.    They   give   him  "Where  is  i he  book  now,  father?" 

150  years  at  least;  yet  he  enjoys   perfect  health;  "Don't  know.    A1  ay  on  died.    No  one  ever  knew 

still  works  at  his  trade  (he  is  a  potter);   is  In  per-  what  became   of  the  sacred  book.    Afterwards 

feet  possession  of  his  mental  faculties,  and  of  an  came  the  insurrection  of  the  Indians,  and  the  old 

unerring  memory.    Having  lost  his  wife,  of  about  friends  also  died." 

the  same  age  as  himself,  but  a  ?Dort  time  before  "Do  you  rember  what  the  book  said?" 

my  interview  with  him,  he  complained  of  feeling  "Now,  one  of  the  things  comes  to  my  mind.    It 

lonely,  and  thought  that  as  soon  as   the   year   of  said  that  there  was  a  very  old  house   called  the 

mourning  was  over  he  would  take  another  wife  to  Akab-sib,  and  in  that  house  a  writing,  which  re- 

himself.    It  was  a  Sunday  morning  that  we  met  cited  that  a  day  would  come  when  the  inJiabttants 

for  the  first  time.   He  had  been  to  church,  assisted  of  Sad  would  converse  with  those  of  Ho  \Merida] 

at  mass.    There  the  recollection  of  his  departed  by  means  of  a  cord,  that  would  be  stretched  by 

life-companion  had  assailed  him  and  filled  bis  old  people  not  belonging  to  the  country." 

heart  with   sadness,— and   he   had    called  to  his  When  I  heard  this,  the  idea  occurred  to  me  that 

relief  another  acquaintance— rum— to  help  him.  to  the  old  fellow  was  cmietly  having  his  little  bit  of 

dispel  his  sorrow.      Sundry   draughts   had  made  fun  at  IT y  expense.    In  order  to  be  sure  of  it  I  m- 

him  quite  talkative.  He  was  iM  the  right  condition  quired: — 

to  open  his  bosom  to  a   sympathizing  friend, — so  "What  do  you  say,  father?    How  can  that  be? 

I     was       to      him       already.       The       libation  Do  you  imagine  how  people  forty  leagues  apart 

I     offered     with     him     to     the     manes      of  can  converse  by  means  of  a  cord  ?" 

his    regretted    mate    unsealed  his  lips.     After  a  But  when  my  interlocutor   answered  that   he 

few  desultory  questions,  with  the  object  of  test-  could  not  either  know  or  imagine  how  that  could 

ing  bis  memory  and  intelligence,  wi  h  great  cau-  be   done,  and  particularly  when  my  friends  as- 

tion   i  began  to  inquire  about  the  points  I  had  sured  me  that  Chabte  had  no  idea  of  the  electric 

more  at  heart— 'o  wit,  to  gather  all  possible  infor-  telegraph,  I  then  became  convinced  of  bis  good 

mation  and  traditions  upon  the  ruins  of  Chicben-  faith,  and  began  to  ponder  on  the  strange  dis- 

[tza  I  was  about  to  visit.    The  old  man  spoke  only  closure  we  had  just  listened  to.    The  old  man  soon 

Maya;  and  my  friend  Cipriano  Rivas,  well  versed  rose  to  take  his  departure,  and  1  invited  him  to 

in  that  language,  was  my  interpreter,  not  being  call  again,  when  he  had  riot  been  to  church  and 

myself  sufficiently  proficient  in  it  to  hold  a  long  consoled  himself  with  his  spiritual  friend,  in  or- 

convers-ation.  der  that  I  might  be  able  to  take  his  portrait.    He 

"Father,"  said  I,  "have  you  ever  been  in  Chi-  repeated     his     visit     a     few     days     later,     as 

chen?    Do  you   know   anything   about    the    big  requested.      I    took     his     portrait,    and     asked 

Louses  that  are  said  to  exist,  there?"  him    again    about   the    monuments    of   Cnicbeu. 

"I  have  nevei  been  in  Chichen,  and  of  my  own  But,  alas!    that  day  his   lips  were  sealed,  or  his 

knowledge  know  nothing  of  those  big  houses;  but  memory    failed,  or   his   Indian    secrecy    had   rt- 

lemember  what  tlie  old  men  used  to  say  about  turned.    He  knew   nothing  of  them;    had  never 

them  when  1  was  young."  been  there;  did  not  remember  what  the  old  men 

"And  what  was  that,  pray.    Will  you  tell  me?"  said  ot  the  enchanted  houses  when  he  was  young, 


102 

except  that  the  place  had  been  enchanted  for  and  also  by  the  solitary  zigzag  seen  about  the 
many,  many  years,  and  that  it  was  not  srood  to  middle  of  the  cord-following  its  direction— mdi- 
sleep  near  them,  because  the  XIab-pak-yum,the  eating  a  half- way  station.  Then  the  electric  tele- 
lord  of  the  old  walls,  would  be  angry  at  the  iutru-  graph,  that  we  consider  the  discovery  par  excel- 
sion,  and  cbasiL-e  the  offender  by  disease  and  fence  ot  the  nineteenth  century,  was  known  of  the 
deatn  wit hiu  the  year.  ancient  Itza  sages  5000  or  10,000  years  ago.  Ah, 

Some   months  later  1  arrived  at  Chichen.    The  Nihil  novum   sub  sol  em!     And   in  that  slab  we 

revelation  of  the  old  man  recurred  vividly  to  my  have  a  clue  to  tbe   deciphering   of  the  Maya  in- 

mind.    I  immediately  went  in  quest  ot  tbe  build-  scriptions,— an  American  Rosetta  stone, 
ing  he  Lad  mentioned— the  Akab-sib.    [This  name       I  will  now  say  a  few  words  of  that  language  that 

literally  means— Akab,  dark,  njysteiious;   sib,  to  has     survived     unaltered     through    the  vu-issi 

write.    But  we  beli  ve  that  anciently  it  was  called  tudes          ot        the        nations        that        si  oke 

Alcab-sib;  that  is,  Alcab,  to  run  in  a  hurry ;  sib,  to  it    thousands    of    years      ago,    and   is   yet    the 

write.]    We  had  some  trouble  in  finding  ir,  cou-  general   tongue   in   Yucatan— tbe   Maya.     Theie 

cealed  and  confounded  a*  it  was  amoug  the  tall  can  be  no  doubt  tbat  this  is  one  of  the  most  an- 

trees  of  the   forest,  its  roof  supporting  a  dense  cient  languages  on  earth.    It  was  used  by  a  peoi  Is 

thicket.    We  visited  its  eighteen  rooms  in  search  that  lived  at  least  6000  years  ago,  as  proved  by  the 

of  the  precious  inscription,  and  at  length  discov-  Katuns,  to  record  the  history  of  their  rulers,  tbe 

ered   it   on   ihe  lintel  of    an  inner  doorway   in  dogmas  of  their  religion,  on  the  walls  of  their  pal- 

the  room  situated  at  the  south  end  of  the  edifice,  aces,  on  the  trades  of  their  temples. 
The  dust  of  ages  was  thick  upon  it.  and  so  con-       in  a  lecture  delivered  last  year  before  the  Ainer- 

cealed  the  characters  as  to  make  them  well-nigh  ican  Geographical  Society  of  New  York,  Dr.  C.  H. 

invisible.    With  care  I  washed  the  slab,  then  with  Berendt  has  shown  that  the  Maya  was  spoken, 

black  crayon  darkened  its  surface  until  the  in-  wjth  its  different  dialects,  by  the  inhabitants  of 

taglio  letters  appeared  in  white  on  a  dark  back-  Mayapan  and  Xibalba   and   the  other  nations  of 

ground.    (The  photographs  of  this  inscription  can  Central  America  south  of  Anahuac.    He  ought  to 

be  seen  at  Mr.  H.  Dixon's.)  be  a  good  authority  on  the  subject,  having  dedi- 

While  thus  employe  I  Mrs.  Le  Flongeon  stood  by  cated  some  years  in  Yucatan  to  its  study, 
my  side,  studying  the  characters  as  they  gradually  The  Maya,  containing  words  from  almost  every 
appeared  more  and  more  distinct.  Toouraston-  language,  ancient  or  modern,  is  well  worth  the 
ishment  we  soon  discovered  the  cord  mentioned  attention  of  philologists.  And  since,  as  Professor 
by  Chable.  It  started  from  the  mouth  of  a  face  Max  Muller  said,  philology  is  the  shining  light 
(which  represents  tbe  people  of  Saci),  situated  that  is  to  illuminate  tbe  darkness  of  ethnology, 
near  the  right-hand  upper  corner  of  the  slab,  then  besides  the  portraits  of  the  bearded  men  discov- 
runs  through  its  whole  length,  in  a  slanting  ered  by  me  in  Chichen,  tbo>e  of  the  princes  and 
direction  and  terminates  at  the  ear  of  another  priests,  and  the  beautiful  statue  of  Chac-Mool, 
head  (the  inhabitants  of  Ho).  The  inclined  direc-  which  serve  to  determine  the  different  types,  may 
tion  of  the  cord  or  line  indicates  the  topographi-  be  a  guide  to  discover  whence  man  and  civiliza- 
cal  position  of  the  respective  cities— Saci  (Valla-  tion  came  to  America,  if  the  American  races  can 
dolid)— beii  g  more  elevated  above  the  level  of  the  be  proved  not  to  be  autochthonous.  Not  with  stand- 
sea  than  Ho  (Merlcla).  But  imagine  now  our  ing  a  few  guttural  sounds,  the  Maya  is  soft,  pliant, 
amazement  at  noticing  the  strange  fact  that  the  rich  in  diction  and  expression;  even  every  shade 
mode  of  communication  that  Chable  ignored  was  of  thought  may  be  expressed. 

by  means  of   electric  currents!    Yes,  of  elec-  ...... 

tricity !    This  fact  is  plainly   indicated  by  the  four       Whence,   then,   are  the  Maya  language  and  the 

z^zag  lines,  representing   the   lightning,  coming  Mayas?      I  should  bke  to  learn   from   the  Ameri- 

froni  the  tour  cardinal  points  and    couveiging  to-  canists  who   are   soon    to    congregate  in  Luxcm- 

ward  a  cent  re  near  the  upper   or   starting  station,  bourg.  AUGUSTUS  LE  FLOUGEON,  M.l  >. 


103 

NOTE.  The  omission  (as  indicated)  at  the  close  of  Dr.  Le  Plongeon's  letter  is 
a  repetition  of  what  he  has  previously  stated  in  other  communications,  in  re- 
gard to  the  many  foreign  words  found  in  the  Maya  language,  and  that  the  Greek 
is  there  largely  represented.  Then  the  question  arises,  who  brought  this 
language  to  Mayapan?  He  continues:  "The  customs,  religion,  architecture 
of  this  country,  have  nothing  in  common  with  those  of  Greece.  Who  carried 
the  Maya  to  the  country  of  Helen?  Was  it  the  Caras  or  Carians,  who  have 
left  traces  of  their  existence  in  many  countries  of  America?  They  are  the 
most  ancient  navigators  known.  They  roved  the  seas  long  before  the  Phoeni- 
cians. They  landed  on  the  North-East  coasts  of  Africa,  thence  they  entered  the 
Mediterranean,  where  they  became  dreaded  as  pirates,  and  afterwards  estab- 
lished themselves  on  the  shores  of  Asia  Minor.  Whence  came  they?  What 
was  their  origin?  Nobody  knows.  They  spoke  a  language  unknown  to  the 
Greeks,  who  laughed  at  the  way  they  pronounced  their  own  idiom.  Were 
they  emigrants  from  this  Western  continent?  Was  not  the  tunic  of  white 
linen,  that  required  no  fastening,  used  by  the  Ionian  women,  according  to 
Herodotus,  the  same  as  the  uipil  ol  the  Maya  females  of  to-day  even,  introduced 
by  them  among  the  inhabitants  of  some  of  the  Mediterranean  isles?" 


The  latest  information  about  the  statue  exhumed  at 
Chichen  Itza  must  be  discouraging  to  those  solicitous  for  the 
careful  conservation  of  this  work  of  art.  La  Remsta  de 
Merida  of  May  31, 1877,  has  this  quotation  from  a  Mexican 
newspaper : — 

"A   SHAMEFUL   FACT." 

"LA  PATRIA  has  the  following  paragraph  copied  from  the  EPOCA,  which 
ought  to  attract  the  attention  of  all  interested.  lTlie  notable  statue  of  Chac- 
Mool,  which  was  received  in  the  capital  of  Yucatan  with  so  great  demonstra- 
tions of  jubilee,  and  with  unaccustomed  pomp,  has  remained  in  our  city  since 
its  arrival,  some  days  ago,  abandoned  in  a  small  square,  afar  off  and  dirty, 
where  the  small  boys  of  the  neighborhood  amuse  themselves  by  pelting 
it.  If  Sr.  Dn.  Augustin  del  Rio  had  known  the  little  value  that  would  have 
been  placed  upon  his  gift,  it  is  certain  that  he  would  have  guarded  there  [at 
Yucatan]  his  king  and  his  records,  about  which  no  one  here  concerns 
himself.''" 

How  much  of  the  above  unfavorable  criticism  on  the  neg- 
lect of  this  archaeological  treasure  by  the  central  government, 
is  due  to  the  political  bias  of  the  source  of  this  information, 
cannot  be  determined.  We  can,  however,  protest  against 
any  want  of  appreciation  of  a  monument  of  past  history  in 
this  manner  lost  to  the  State  of  Yucatan  and  to  the  dis- 
coverer, Dr.  Le  Plongeon,  by  the  arbitrary  exercise  of  official 
authority. 


p 


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